Dust Storm in Arizona, April 25, 2016

Name: Dust Storm in Arizona, April 25, 2016
Start: 2016-04-25T14:00
End: 2016-04-25T16:00
Location: Arizona

April 25, 2016 · NWS TWC · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Approaching low pressure, which was situated across the Great Basin, caused gusty west to southwest winds across the state. A poorly maintained field was source of blowing dust which caused a multi-vehicle accident and closed Interstate 10 in Cochise County for two hours.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $200,000
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.

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 Apr 25, 1:23 PM MST, 37 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 25, 1:23 PM MST, 37 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ
123 PM MST MON APR 25 2016

.SYNOPSIS...STRONG GUSTY WINDS WILL CONTINUE INTO THIS EVENING AS A
STORM SYSTEM PASSES TO THE NORTH OF THE AREA. TEMPERATURES WILL DROP
TO WELL BELOW NORMAL BY TUESDAY. HIGH PRESSURE BRIEFLY MOVES IN
WEDNESDAY WITH LESS WIND AND WARMER TEMPERATURES. ANOTHER STORM WILL
AFFECT THE REGION THURSDAY AND FRIDAY WITH GUSTY WINDS...ESPECIALLY
ON THURSDAY AND COOLER TEMPERATURES BOTH THURSDAY AND FRIDAY. A
SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND EVEN A THUNDERSTORM IS
POSSIBLE...MAINLY TO THE NORTHEAST OF TUCSON. GRADUALLY WARMING
TEMPERATURES NEXT WEEKEND WITH A FEW BREEZES AND STILL A SLIGHT
CHANCE OF SHOWERS IN THE WHITE MOUNTAINS.

&&

.DISCUSSION...LATEST WV IMAGERY SHOWS A BROAD UPPER LOW ACROSS
THE GREAT BASIN WITH MULTIPLE EMBEDDED CIRCULATIONS PUSHING EASTWARD
WITH SOUTHEAST ARIZONA ON THE DRY AND WINDY SOUTHERN FLANK OF THE
TROUGH AXIS. CURRENT SURFACE OBSERVATIONS SHOW THAT WIND SPEEDS HAVE
INCREASED ACROSS THE AREA WITH MOST LOCATIONS SEEING GUSTS 35+ MPH.
THERE HAVE BEEN A FEW REPORTS OF BLOWING DUST ON I-10 IN PINAL
COUNTY JUST OUTSIDE OUR FORECAST AREA NEAR CASA GRANDE AND THIS WILL
REMAIN A CONCERN PARTICULARLY ALONG I-10 IN PINAL COUNTY AND NEAR
THE WILLCOX PLAYA. WINDS WILL GENERALLY TAPER OFF PROGRESSING
THROUGH THE EVENING AND OVERNIGHT BUT SOME PRONE AREAS INCLUDING
MOUNTAINS AND DOWNWIND CITIES OF MOUNTAINS SUCH AS SIERRA VISTA
COULD SEE BREEZY TO WINDY CONDITIONS PERSIST OVERNIGHT.

AS THE UPPER LOW AND ASSOCIATED TROUGH MOVE TO OUR EAST ON
TUESDAY...DRY NORTHWESTERLY FLOW WILL BE PRESENT ACROSS SOUTHEAST
ARIZONA. WILL STILL SEE BREEZY CONDITIONS FOR EASTERN SECTIONS OF
THE FORECAST AREA. MEANWHILE...EVEN COOLER TEMPERATURES ARE IN STORE
FOR TUESDAY WITH HIGHS ABOUT 6 TO 10 DEGREES BELOW NORMAL.

BRIEF WEAK SHORTWAVE RIDGING WILL BE MOVING THROUGH THE AREA ON
WEDNESDAY WITH SOMEWHAT LESS WIND...THOUGH AS IS TYPICAL THIS TIME
OF YEAR THERE WILL STILL BE A FEW AFTERNOON GUSTS. AFTER A CHILLY
START...TEMPERATURES WILL WARM BACK UP TO NEAR SEASONAL NORMALS.

THE NEXT IN A SERIES OF TROUGHS WILL MOVE INTO THE SOUTHWESTERN U.S.
FOR THURSDAY INTO FRIDAY. THIS WILL RESULT IN BREEZY TO WINDY
CONDITIONS ONCE AGAIN THURSDAY...THOUGH THE WINDS DON'T LOOK QUITE
AS STRONG AS TODAY. MOISTURE WILL BE FAR ENOUGH SOUTH WHICH COMBINED
WITH LARGE SCALE ASCENT WILL LEAD TO A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS THURSDAY TO THE NORTH/NORTHEAST OF TUCSON. LESS WIND
IS EXPECTED FRIDAY AS THE TROUGH AXIS PUSHES EAST WITH SLIGHT
CHANCES FOR SHOWERS/THUNDERSTORMS LIMITED TO THE WHITE MOUNTAINS.
OTHERWISE...MUCH COOLER TEMPERATURES ON THURSDAY AND FRIDAY WITH
HIGHS 6 TO 10 DEGREES BELOW NORMAL ONCE AGAIN.

GENERALLY DRY THIS WEEKEND...THOUGH ANOTHER UPPER LOW IS PROGGED
ACROSS NORTHERN ARIZONA BY SUNDAY. THERE REMAINS ENOUGH MOISTURE FOR
A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS THE WHITE
MOUNTAINS. TEMPERATURES WILL GRADUALLY WARM THROUGH THE WEEKEND.

&&

.AVIATION...VALID THRU 27/00Z.
STRONG AND GUSTY SWLY TO WLY WINDS CONTINUING THIS
AFTERNOON...LINGERING INTO THE EARLY OVERNIGHT HOURS. PEAK SPEEDS
EXPECTED DURING THE 25/21Z TO 26/02Z TIME FRAME. SUSTAINED WINDS AND
GUSTS GRADUALLY SUBSIDING THROUGH 26/08Z. EXPECT TURBULENCE AROUND
AND DOWNWIND OF MOUNTAINS INTO TONIGHT. GUSTY SURFACE WINDS WILL
DEVELOP AGAIN TOMORROW AFTERNOON...STRONGEST EAST OF KTUS WITH A FEW
GUSTS OF 25 TO 30 KTS. AVIATION DISCUSSION NOT UPDATED FOR TAF
AMENDMENTS.

&&

.FIRE WEATHER...CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS WILL CONTINUE
FOR ELEVATIONS BELOW 7000 FEET INTO THIS EVENING WHERE A RED FLAG
WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 8 PM MST.

EXPECT LESS WIND TOMORROW...ALTHOUGH SOME AFTERNOON NORTHWESTERLY
GUSTS TO AROUND 30 MPH WILL BE POSSIBLE...MAINLY EAST OF TUCSON.
CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS MAY BRIEFLY BE MET FOR A FEW HOURS
DURING THE AFTERNOON HOURS NEAR THE ARIZONA/NEW MEXICO BORDER.

WE'LL BE IN BETWEEN WEATHER SYSTEMS ON WEDNESDAY WHICH WILL RESULT
IN BRIEFLY WARMER TEMPERATURES AND A FEW SOUTHWESTERLY BREEZES.
ANOTHER STORM SYSTEM WILL MOVE INTO THE REGION ON THURSDAY RESULTING
IN A RENEWED RISK FOR CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS...MAINLY FOR
SOUTHERN PORTIONS OF FIRE WEATHER ZONE 152 AND POSSIBLY THE FAR
SOUTHEASTERN PORTIONS OF 151.

BREEZY CONDITIONS WILL BE CONTINUE FRIDAY AND THROUGH THE UPCOMING
WEEKEND ALONG WITH A SLIGHT CHANCE FOR MAINLY AFTERNOON SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS NORTH OF TUCSON.

&&

.TWC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
    WIND ADVISORY FROM UNTIL 8 PM MST THIS EVENING FOR AZZ501>515.

    RED FLAG WARNING FROM UNTIL 8 PM MST THIS EVENING FOR AZZ150>153
    BELOW 7000 FEET.

&&

GL

VISIT US ON FACEBOOK...TWITTER...YOUTUBE...AND AT WEATHER.GOV/TUCSON

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 dust storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Dust Storm, Eastern Cochise County Below 5000 Feet

When: April 25, 2:00 PM MST to 4:00 PM MST
Where: Eastern Cochise County Below 5000 Feet forecast zone
Property damage: $200,000
Reported by: Law Enforcement
Coordinates: 31.880, -109.751 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Southwest winds gusting up to 45 mph blew dust from an non-maintained parcel of land adjacent to Interstate 10 across the roadway causing near-zero visibility during the afternoon hours. The result was a collision involving two tractor-trailers heading westbound near Mile Post 376, about 15 miles west of the New Mexico/Arizona state line. Both vehicles and their payloads sustained substantial damage. Sixty miles of interstate were closed for about 2 hours due to both blowing dust to the collision.

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 2016 Every state in 2016 This day in weather history Warnings in Arizona, April 2016

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 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 631324.