A Blowing Dust Advisory is in effect Tuesday afternoon and evening for parts of southeast Arizona and southwest New Mexico, where thunderstorm outflow winds are expected to stir up dust and cut visibility to as low as a quarter mile.
Southeast Arizona: Cochise County and Surrounding Mountains
The NWS Tucson office has the advisory in effect from 2 PM to 8 PM MST across the Upper San Pedro River Valley, eastern Cochise County, the Upper Gila River and Aravaipa valleys, and the Galiuro, Pinaleño, Chiricahua, Dragoon, Mule, Huachuca and Santa Rita mountains.
Sierra Vista, Benson, Douglas, Willcox, Clifton and Safford are all in the advisory area. Thunderstorms developing after 2 PM are expected to produce gusty outflow winds capable of lofting dust across roadways.
Southwest New Mexico: Grant and Hidalgo Counties
The NWS El Paso/Santa Teresa office has a similar advisory in effect from 2 PM to 8 PM MDT for the lowlands along Interstate 10 in Grant and Hidalgo counties, in the Southwest Desert and Lower Gila River Valley.
What Drivers Should Know
Visibility can drop from clear to near zero in a matter of seconds when a dust wall moves through, creating hazardous driving conditions.
If blowing dust is approaching or already reducing visibility on the road, pull as far off the pavement as possible, put the vehicle in park, turn off the lights and keep your foot off the brake pedal so trailing drivers don’t mistake your taillights for a moving vehicle ahead. The advice from forecasters: “Pull Aside, Stay Alive.”
People with respiratory conditions should plan to stay indoors until the dust clears.
