Arizona's monsoon can bring much-anticipated rain, but it also can bring deadly dust storms, especially along Interstate 10.
High winds blow dust over Interstate 10 near Picacho Peak. Dust storms like this can cause drivers to be blinded and get into wrecks.
During the monsoon, the National Weather Service will frequently issue a warning for a dust storm, also called a haboob, from the Arabic word for a violent dust storm or sandstorm.
One of the worst places for dust storms is on Interstate 10 near Picacho Peak, where strong thunderstorm winds can pick up dust from farmlands and the desert and roll it northward in a giant wave, often reaching the Phoenix area.
ADOT uses a dust-detection system near Picacho Peak, along Interstate 10 north of Tucson
To counteract dust storm dangers along I-10, the Arizona Department of Transportation has initiated what it calls the "first-in-the-nation dust detection and warning system." The system, which has been used since 2020, is on a 10-mile stretch near Eloy, between mileposts 209 and 219, and includes overhead message boards, variable speed limit signs, closed-circuit cameras and short-range detectors for blowing dust.
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With often near-zero visibility during the summer's monsoon dust storms, ADOT reminds drivers to “Pull Aside, Stay Alive.”
