More than 1 million people in southern Arizona were asked to pull over on Wednesday should they encounter a sudden dust storm, which can become a “significant hazard” and drop the visibility to near zero.
Why It Matters
Blowing dust events reduced roadway visibility rapidly, increasing the risk of multi-vehicle crashes and rollovers on intercity highways and rural roads. The advisories named Interstate 10 corridors—specifically through the San Simon Valley and the stretch between Tucson and Phoenix—as areas of elevated hazard. The combination of strong gusty winds and suspended dust also posed health risks to people with heart disease and respiratory conditions, as the advisories noted that dust would be inhaled by nearby people and animals.
What To Know
The advisories covered the Tucson metro area and multiple valleys and counties in southern Arizona and urged those with respiratory sensitivities to limit outdoor exertion, as inhaling the dust could exacerbate respiratory conditions. Officials cautioned that organized thunderstorm outflows could produce haboob-like conditions, creating sudden drops in visibility that posed a “significant hazard to motorists.”
The National Weather Service (NWS) office in Tucson issued blowing dust advisories for large portions of southern Arizona on Wednesday, warning that strong thunderstorm outflows could produce gusts of 40-45 mph, reduce visibility to between one-quarter and one mile and create hazardous driving conditions through the afternoon and evening.
Drivers facing blowing dust were instructed to “pull off the road as far as possible and put your vehicle in park,” and to “turn the lights all the way off and keep foot off the brake pedal.”…