Arizona, 2006

Dust Storm in Arizona, February 15, 2006

February 15, 2006 · NWS PSR · 1 event in 1 county or zone

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

The toll

Deaths
2
Injuries
13
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 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 Phoenix, AZ wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 14, 3:10 PM MST, 19 hours 15 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 14, 3:10 PM MST, 19 hours 15 minutes before
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Event by event

1 dust storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Dust Storm, Nw Pinal

When
February 15, 10:25 AM MST to 10:35 AM MST
Where
Nw Pinal forecast zone
Deaths
2 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries
13 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER

Near zero visibility due to blowing dust, also described as a temporary blackout, contributed to two traffic pileups on a stretch of Interstate 8 west of Casa Grande.

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.

EventDateAgeSexWhereKind
Dust Storm, Nw Pinal2006-02-1579FemaleVehicle/Towed TrailerDirect
Dust Storm, Nw Pinal2006-02-1585MaleVehicle/Towed TrailerDirect

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

More

Every storm in Arizona in 2006Every state in 2006This day in weather historyWarnings in Arizona, February 2006

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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5492160.