ASU creates new way to categorize dust storms

PHOENIX — Arizona State University researchers have created a first-of-its-kind Dust Storm Scale. It’s something, they say, that can help people here in the valley better understand this weather phenomenon.

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Dust storms are one of Arizona’s most recognizable weather events. Many probably remember last August when traffic slowed, airplanes were grounded, and day turned to night.

“They do happen really any time of day,” Dr. Ryan Heintzman said. “It just depends on when those storms move through.”

Now, in an effort to categorize these storms, ASU researchers and about a dozen other experts created a first-of-its-kind ‘Dust Storm Scale.’

“It’s been a five-year focus project,” Dr. Heintzman said.

Heintzman is a Geographical Science and Urban Planning Teaching Professor at ASU. He says the Phoenix Dust Storm Scale is kind of similar to the Enhanced Fujita or EF Scale of tornadoes.

“It was tied to air quality and being able to map out extreme events that happen to be related to air quality and dust exposure,” he said. “We’ve looked at events from 2010 to 2023, so we had 189 events that we classified during that time. The majority were a Category 1.”

The scale is not for forecasting and takes place after the storm has moved through. However, during a dust storm, Air Quality Sensors around the valley will measure the particulates in the air, which can help categorize the storm afterward. A Category 1 would have the lowest concentration of dust, while a Category 5 would have the highest.

“If you take a breath during a Category 1 event, that would be roughly equivalent to a few 100 pieces of dust entering your lungs, or breathing in,” he said.

There are also subcategories that focus on the spatial coverage of the storm, its duration, and what the wind gusts are. A high wind event would have more than 25mph winds.

The infamous July 5th, 2011, dust storm was a Category 5. The storm last August was only a Category 2.

“The reason why it likely wasn’t such a significant event was because it only lasted about 10-15 minutes in a lot of places,” Dr. Heintzman said. “As it moved through, it also lifted up a new thunderstorm right above it, which brought rain and pulled all the dust from the air.”

The goal of this is to help the community connect and learn more about these storms moving forward. And with monsoon season around the corner, there’s hope this new scale is key to accomplishing that.

“Let’s find a way we can categorize these storms that allow the public to engage with it in a different way,” Dr. Heintzman said. “In a way that makes them think about exposure, or how we can look at it from the perspective of transportation, or maybe even forecasting in the future.”

Determining the category of a dust storm would happen a day or two after the storm hits. ASU will also be launching a new website on June 1; that’ll include all the data and storm categories. Once ready, that can be found at PHXDust.asu.edu.

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