92nd American Meteorological Society Annual Meeting (January 22-26, 2012)

Monday, 23 January 2012
Dual-Polarized Radar Observations of Two Arizona Dust Storms
Hall E (New Orleans Convention Center )
Katherine, M. Willingham, CIMMS,Univ. of Oklahoma/NSSL, Norman, OK; and K. W. Howard and C. Dempsey

Severe thunderstorms in Arizona during the summer monsoon season regularly produce intense dust storms, known as 'haboobs.' Rapid urban expansion and rising population density in the Phoenix, Arizona metropolitan area means the socioeconomic impact of haboobs has increased. For stakeholders such as The Salt River Project (SRP), an Arizona utility company, haboobs can damage electrical power transmission infrastructure. Two significant haboobs impacted the Phoenix metropolitan area on 5 July 2011 and 18 July 2011, both with multiple waves of dust moving across the city. Dual-polarized radar observations from both the Phoenix WSR-88D and the NSSL mobile X-band radar that was deployed east of Phoenix are presented, and aligned with data from surface observation stations and system damage reports from SRP.

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