Dust Storm in Arizona, July 14, 2002

Name: Dust Storm in Arizona, July 14, 2002
Start: 2002-07-14T19:30
End: 2002-07-14T20:15
Location: Arizona

July 14, 2002 · NWS TWC · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Outflow boundaries from surrounding thunderstorms in the Tucson area caused a dust storm along Interstate 10 in Pinal County. Law enforcement in Eloy reported near zero visibilities on Interstate 10 as dust pushed northward towards Phoenix.

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 1

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS TWC wrote it up.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Tucson, AZ wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 14, 2:00 PM MST, 5 hours 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 14, 2:00 PM MST, 5 hours 30 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ
200 PM MST SUN JUL 14 2002

.SYNOPSIS...SUFFICIENT MOISTURE WILL CONTINUE OVER SOUTHEAST ARIZONA
FOR A DAILY RISK OF THUNDERSTORMS THIS WEEK. AN INCREASE OF MOISTURE
FROM THE SOUTH AND SOUTHEAST WILL LEAD TO MORE THUNDERSTORM COVERAGE
THROUGH MONDAY.

.DISCUSSION...PORTENDS OF STRONG INSTABILITY IN THE 12Z KTUS
SOUNDING HAVE STARTED TO COME TO FRUITION THIS AFTERNOON AS
CONVECTION HAS BEEN QUICK TO MATURE OVER MOST SOUTHEAST ARIZONA
MOUNTAINS. CONTINUED EASTERLY STEERING LEVEL FLOW WITH PW VALUES UP
ABOUT .1 TO .2 ACROSS THE AREA SHOULD SEE OUTFLOW INTO VALLEY
LOCATIONS THIS AFTERNOON AND INTO THE EVENING...KEEPING A SPECIAL
EYE ON OUTFLOW FROM EASTERN PORTIONS OF THE RIM AND WHITE MOUNTAINS.
SURFACE DEWPTS HAVE HELD UP WELL IN THE UPPER 50S TO NEAR 60 RANGE.
LOWER DESERTS REMAIN A STRONG CANDIDATE FOR OUTFLOW AND PROPAGATION
OF STORMS IN THE EVENING. TODAY...TONIGHT...AND MONDAY LOOK LIKE A
FINE TIME TO BE A THUNDERSTORM IN SOUTHEAST ARIZONA.

LARGER SCALE...NOT REALLY MUCH CHANGE THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS. HIGH
PRESSURE OVER THE WEST...BUT THE RIDGE AXIS SHIFTS EAST AS THE
PERIOD SLOWS INTO A LONGER WAVE WITH A MEAN POSITION ACROSS MOST OF
THE COUNTRY. HIGH CENTER TO OUR NORTH SHOULD SAG SOUTH AND EAST WITH
THIS...LIKELY FAR ENOUGH EAST TO ADD A DEEPER SOUTHERLY COMPONENT TO
THE FLOW LATER IN THE WEEK. OUR PART OF THE STATE SHOULD CONTINUE TO
SEE SCATTERED AFTERNOON AND EVENING THUNDERSTORMS UNTIL FURTHER
NOTICE. M

.TWC...NONE.

In the hours before

Local storm report, Jul 14, 2:01 PM MST, 5 hours 29 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON ARIZONA
0201 PM MST SUN JUL 14 2002

TIME (MST) .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0201 PM    PATAGONIA                 AZ   WIND DAMAGE
07/14/02   SANTA CRUZ                     SIGNS BLOWN DOWN. 1/2 INCH HAIL
                                          COVERING THE GROUND.

Special weather statement, Jul 14, 2:55 PM MST, 4 hours 35 minutes before

AZZ019-029>035-150400-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ
255 PM MST SUN JUL 14 2002

THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH
NUMBER 510 FOR ALL OF SOUTHEAST ARIZONA...EFFECTIVE UNTIL 9 PM. THIS
WATCH INCLUDES GREENLEE...GRAHAM...COCHISE...PIMA...SANTA CRUZ...AND
SOUTHEAST PINAL COUNTIES.

THIS WATCH INCLUDES THE TUCSON METRO AREA...SAFFORD...CLIFTON...
ORACLE...ELOY...PICACHO PEAK...SELLS...AJO...NOGALES...SIERRA
VISTA...WILLCOX...AND DOUGLAS.

SCATTERED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL MOVE SOUTHWEST ACROSS THE REGION
THIS EVENING. THE MAIN THREAT FROM THESE STORMS WILL BE WIND GUSTS
OVER 60 MPH. HAIL UP TO ONE INCH IN DIAMETER...BLOWING DUST...AND
LOCALIZED HEAVY RAIN WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR COMMERCIAL MEDIA FOR FURTHER
UPDATES.

PYTLAK

Local storm report, Jul 14, 6:01 PM MST, 1 hour 29 minutes before

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Special weather statement, Jul 14, 6:08 PM MST, 1 hour 22 minutes before

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Local storm report, Jul 14, 6:23 PM MST, 1 hour 7 minutes before

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Special weather statement, Jul 14, 6:45 PM MST, 45 minutes before

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Event by event

1 dust storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Dust Storm, Southeast Pinal County

When: July 14, 7:30 PM MST to 8:15 PM MST
Where: Southeast Pinal County forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT

What these are

Dust Storm: Blowing dust that reduced visibility to a quarter mile or less.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Arizona in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Arizona, July 2002

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5307605.