Big Phoenix Dust Storm

People in the Valley of the Sun are all freaked out about last night's dust storm:

The wall of dust rolled into the Valley starting just before 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Ellis said. The mile-high dust storm moved between speeds of 50 and 60 mph and appeared to be nearly 100 miles wide, according to the Weather Service's radar.

Winds in the Valley reached 50 mph with gusts approaching 60 mph, Ellis said. Visibility fluctuated between zero to a quarter of a mile during the storm's peak density.

"I've been (in Arizona) for nearly 33 years, and I've never seen as thick a coating of dust, on streets and cars, as this one," Ellis said. "I've never seen anything like it before."

Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport was forced to shut down for nearly an hour, spokeswoman Julie Rodriguez said. All planes were grounded between 8 p.m. and 8:45 p.m., and some flights were diverted to Tucson and California for landing. At least two flights were canceled.

The storm was so powerful, it blew a heavy cloud of dust into the terminals, triggering fire alarms.

Phoenix Fire Department received more than 700 calls for service as the storm rolled through the city.

...Salt River Project reported 9,400 customers across the Valley lost power during the peak of the storm.

Arizona Public Service reported that the entire town of Quartzsite lost power, affecting 2,000 people, and blackouts affected 6,000 customers in Buckeye.

Significant outages were also reported in Apache Junction, central and south Phoenix, and south Scottsdale. APS reported Wednesday morning that 600 customers in the far west Valley were still without power, but outages should be fixed by the end of the day.

A semitruck was blown over along Interstate 8 near milepost 169, six miles southwest of Casa Grande, Ellis said. Twenty power poles went down, and a tree fell on a police station near Sacaton in Pinal County.

The storm brought down live wires in Tempe, and one started a fire near Rural Road and Southern Avenue, Smith said. The blaze was quickly extinguished.

In Chandler, winds toppled nine trees at the intersection of Chandler and Arizona avenues. Police officers used chainsaws and a tow truck to clear the debris.

Although the cause of the storm's speed was yet to be determined, Weather Service officials said the storm's unusual density was caused by little rainfall in affected areas during the past several months.

A typical dust storm in Arizona might reach 1,000 feet and travel between 30 and 40 mph, Ellis said.

[UPDATE: At the link, take a look while it's still available at the remnant of the MCC, or whatever it was, that blew through Phoenix yesterday. Tight little low in the Mojave! Spiral arms, and everything! Looks like a little tropical storm. An easterly wave!]