Arizona, 2009

Dust Storm in Arizona, September 3, 2009

September 3, 2009 · NWS PSR · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Dense blowing dust reduced the visibility to less than 1/4 mile between Eloy and Arizona City.

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 PSR wrote it up.

Dense blowing dust reduced the visibility to less than 1/4 mile between Eloy and Arizona City.

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 Sep 3, 4:32 PM MST, 1 hour 58 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 3, 4:32 PM MST, 1 hour 58 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>
Hazardous weather outlook, Sep 3, 5:42 AM MST, 12 hours 48 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX AZ
542 AM MST THU SEP 3 2009

AZZ020>028-CAZ030>033-041245-
LOWER COLORADO RIVER VALLEY AZ-WEST CENTRAL DESERTS-
NORTHWEST MARICOPA COUNTY-GREATER PHOENIX AREA-
SOUTHERN GILA COUNTY/TONTO NATIONAL FOREST FOOTHILLS-
YUMA/MARTINEZ LAKE AND VICINITY-SOUTHWEST DESERTS-
SOUTHWEST MARICOPA COUNTY-NORTHWEST AND NORTH CENTRAL PINAL COUNTY-
JOSHUA TREE NATIONAL PARK-LOWER COLORADO RIVER VALLEY CA-
RIVERSIDE COUNTY/EASTERN DESERTS-IMPERIAL COUNTY-
542 AM MST THU SEP 3 2009 /542 AM PDT THU SEP 3 2009/

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF EAST-CENTRAL
ARIZONA...EXTREME SOUTHWEST ARIZONA...EXTREME WEST-CENTRAL ARIZONA...
SOUTH-CENTRAL ARIZONA...SOUTHWEST ARIZONA...WEST-CENTRAL ARIZONA...
EXTREME SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA AND SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

THERE IS A CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND EARLY
THIS EVENING...MAINLY ACROSS THE HIGHER TERRAIN EAST OF PHOENIX. THE
STRONGEST STORMS WILL BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING HEAVY RAIN...OCCASIONAL
LIGHTNING...WIND GUSTS IN EXCESS OF 40 MPH AND BLOWING DUST.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY

INCREASING MOISTURE WILL RESULT IN HIGHER RAIN CHANCES SATURDAY AND
SUNDAY. ALTHOUGH STRONG WINDS WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH THE STRONGEST
STORMS...THE GREATER THREAT WILL BE FLOODING OF NORMALLY DRY CREEKS
AND WASHES. THE CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS WILL PERSIST THROUGH NEXT
WEEK...BUT WILL BE MAINLY CONFINED TO EASTERN ARIZONA.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER
CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES.

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX IS ON THE INTERNET AT

WEATHER.GOV/PHOENIX

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Sep 3, 3:08 PM MST, 3 hours 22 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX AZ
308 PM MST THU SEP 3 2009

AZZ024-028-032245-
GILA AZ-MARICOPA AZ-PINAL AZ-
308 PM MST THU SEP 3 2009

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PHOENIX HAS ISSUED A

SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR...
  SOUTH CENTRAL GILA COUNTY IN EAST CENTRAL ARIZONA
  NORTH CENTRAL PINAL COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL ARIZONA
  NORTHEASTERN MARICOPA COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL ARIZONA

UNTIL 345 PM MST

AT 301 PM MST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE METEOROLOGISTS DETECTED
STRONG THUNDERSTORMS ALONG A LINE EXTENDING FROM PUNKIN CENTER TO 16
MILES EAST OF KEARNY..AND MOVING SOUTH-SOUTHWEST AT 5 MPH.

WIND GUSTS UP TO 45 MPH ARE EXPECTED WITH THESE STORMS...ALONG WITH
HEAVY RAIN...SMALL HAIL...AND FREQUENT DANGEROUS LIGHTNING. NORMALLY
DRY WASHES AND CREEK MAY BEGIN FLOWING WITH WATER. ROCKSLIDES ARE
POSSIBLE IN AREAS OF RUGGED TERRAIN.

LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE...
   ROOSEVELT...
   GLOBE...
   MIAMI...
   PUNKIN CENTER...

LAT...LON 3381 11115 3377 11098 3367 11092 3366 11087
      3318 11046 3313 11063 3304 11071 3299 11079
      3324 11095 3316 11107 3394 11163 3397 11136
TIME...MOT...LOC 2205Z 024DEG 4KT 3385 11127 3309 11064

JR
Local storm report, Sep 3, 3:26 PM MST, 3 hours 4 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX AZ
326 PM MST THU SEP 03 2009

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0320 PM     HAIL             GLOBE                   33.38N 110.75W
09/03/2009  E0.25 INCH       GILA               AZ   TRAINED SPOTTER

&&

JROGERS
Special weather statement, Sep 3, 6:20 PM MST, 10 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX AZ
620 PM MST THU SEP 3 2009

AZZ023-024-040200-
GILA AZ-MARICOPA AZ-
620 PM MST THU SEP 3 2009

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PHOENIX HAS ISSUED A

SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR...
  WEST CENTRAL GILA COUNTY IN EAST CENTRAL ARIZONA
  NORTHEASTERN MARICOPA COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL ARIZONA

UNTIL 700 PM MST

AT 619 PM MST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE METEOROLOGISTS DETECTED
STRONG THUNDERSTORMS ALONG A LINE EXTENDING FROM SUNFLOWER TO 8 MILES
SOUTHEAST OF CAMP CREEK..AND MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 5 MPH.

HAIL UP TO ONE-HALF INCH IN DIAMETER AND WIND GUSTS UP TO 50 MPH ARE
EXPECTED WITH THESE STORMS...ALONG WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN AND FREQUENT
DANGEROUS LIGHTNING. NORMALLY DRY WASHES IN THE AREA MAY BEGIN
FLOWING WITH WATER.

LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE...
   SUNFLOWER...
   PUNKIN CENTER...

LAT...LON 3401 11143 3396 11139 3390 11126 3378 11121
      3369 11172 3396 11187
TIME...MOT...LOC 0120Z 328DEG 4KT 3391 11144 3386 11169

JR
Special weather statement, Sep 3, 6:24 PM MST, 6 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX AZ
624 PM MST THU SEP 3 2009

AZZ028-040215-
PINAL AZ-
624 PM MST THU SEP 3 2009

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PHOENIX HAS ISSUED A

SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR...
  CENTRAL PINAL COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL ARIZONA

UNTIL 715 PM MST

AT 622 PM MST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE METEOROLOGISTS DETECTED A
STRONG THUNDERSTORM NEAR COOLIDGE..MOVING NORTHWEST AT 10 MPH.

WIND GUSTS UP TO 50 MPH ARE EXPECTED WITH THIS STORM...ALONG WITH
HEAVY RAIN AND FREQUENT DANGEROUS LIGHTNING. NORMALLY DRY WASHES MAY
BEGIN FLOWING WITH WATER. AREAS OF BLOWING DUST MAY REDUCE
VISIBILITY DOWN TO ONE MILE IN SOME LOCATIONS.

LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE...
   MAGMA...

THIS STORM MAY INTENSIFY...SO BE CERTAIN TO MONITOR LOCAL RADIO AND
TV STATIONS...AS WELL AS LOCAL CABLE TV OUTLETS...FOR ADDITIONAL
INFORMATION AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS FROM THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.

LAT...LON 3277 11159 3293 11174 3300 11180 3317 11146
      3298 11130 3280 11154
TIME...MOT...LOC 0123Z 117DEG 12KT 3297 11154

JR

Event by event

1 dust storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Dust Storm, Central Deserts

When
September 3, 6:30 PM MST to 6:55 PM MST
Where
Central Deserts forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter

Two spotters reported dense blowing dust with visibility less than 1/4 mile.

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 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in Arizona, September 2009

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: 195566.