Phoenix, AZ--Saturday, a dust storm blowing across parts of the Valley closed down State Route 347 at Riggs Road, west of Sun Lakes, the Arizona Department of Transportation reported.
"As dry as it is after these years of drought it doesn't take much to cause a dust storm," meteorologist Mike Bruce said. "It will kind of spread across the metro area right now and will go for another hour or so and the winds will die down."
Bruce said the dust storm blowing through the Phoenix metropolitan area was coming from Pinal County.
He said the average wind gust was about 25 mph with some gusts as high as 40 mph. A wind gust is considered severe when it hits 60 mph, Bruce said.
He said reports of visibility ranged from quarter of a mile to half a mile in some areas.
This is not the first dust storm to hit the Phoenix area this year. Click on the links to see other stories.
AZ Central/Reuters