Tucsonans awoke on the first day of summer to find the usual morning views of the Rincon and Santa Catalina mountains were blocked by thick clouds of dust and haze.
A 100-mile-long dust storm blew across New Mexico from the east and into Tucson overnight, said Glenn Lader, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Tucson.
A dust storm at this scale is very unusual, he said. In Lader’s 18 years in Tucson, this is among the stronger dust-storm cases he can recall, he said.
It’s also unusual because blowing dust usually arrives in Tucson from the west and usually in the spring season, he added.
The dust clouds could settle gradually or they could be washed away with the chance of thunderstorms today and through the weekend, Lader said. Winds from monsoon storms could kick up more dust, but it wouldn’t be as widespread, he said.
The extreme heat is also a factor in stronger winds from monsoon storms. An Excessive Heat Warning is in effect for Pima County and much of Southern Arizona. Get heat safety tips.
The dusty air will affect some people more than others — older people, young children, outdoor workers and people who exercise outside, and people who have respiratory and heart diseases, said Karen Wilhelmsen, an environmental education program manager at Pima County.
“We suggest that they limit outdoor exposure or reduce exertion outdoors,” like walking rather than jogging, she said. “And if necessary stay inside.”
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