Dust Storm in Arizona, January 6, 2003

Name: Dust Storm in Arizona, January 6, 2003
Start: 2003-01-06T10:15
End: 2003-01-06T11:00
Location: Arizona

January 6, 2003 · NWS TWC · 1 event in 1 county or zone

1 dust storm, as filed by the National Weather Service.

The toll

Deaths: 1
Injuries: 25
Property damage: $64,000
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.

Event by event

1 dust storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Dust Storm, Cochise County

When: January 6, 10:15 AM MST to 11:00 AM MST
Where: Cochise County forecast zone
Deaths: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries: 25 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $64,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT

Strong winds caused a dust storm around 10:40 am along Interstate 10 near San Simon. The near zero visibilities caused an eight vehicle pile up on westbound Interstate 10 at mile post 371.8 near San Simon. The vehicles involved in the accident included two cars, a tractor trailer rig, a motorcycle, a motor home, and a truck. This tragic accident due to reduced visibilities caused the fatality of a 10 month year old girl, as well as injuring 25 others.

The people who died

As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.

Event	Date	Age	Sex	Where	Kind
Dust Storm, Cochise County	2003-01-06	1	Female	Vehicle/Towed Trailer	Direct

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 2003 Every state in 2003 This day in weather history Warnings in Arizona, January 2003

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: 5341554.