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    Senior Member JohnDoe2's Avatar
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    Officials baffled by intense dust storms on I-40

    Officials baffled by intense dust storms on I-40

    Jun. 3, 2010 12:00 AM
    The Arizona Republic

    The wind in northern Arizona is older than Meteor Crater, but the blinding dust storms that have crippled nearby Interstate 40 are new.

    That dust blasts out of the desert in billowing walls, blinding drivers and shutting down about 30 miles of interstate east of Flagstaff for hours, leaving thousands stranded each time.


    Until last year, Highway Patrol officials had never closed I-40, but they have shut down the east-west artery 10 times this spring, including twice on May 22-23.

    The full picture of what's causing the dust storms remains a mystery. There have been more frequent days of winds upward of 45 mph, but state and weather officials say that doesn't explain why it is kicking up so much grit.

    "That's the million-dollar question: Where is it coming from, and how do you stop it?" said Mackenzie Nuño, an Arizona Department of Transportation spokeswoman.

    Whatever the answer, the effect has been nothing but misery for motorists.

    From 2000 through 2008, the state Department of Public Safety logged no dust-related collisions between Milepost 215, east of Flagstaff, and Milepost 260, just east of Winslow. Last year, Highway Patrol cars responded to 11 such accidents, and so far this year, five.

    Unlike the sudden, short dust storms that strike Interstate 10 south of the Valley, the recent I-40 closures typically last five hours and have dragged on for eight.

    Drivers must sit in 10-mile backups in both directions, the DPS and ADOT report. Many get frustrated and try to make sometimes dangerous U-turns across the freeway median. Some tourists rely on GPS systems to navigate detours. Often, they get stuck in the same brown cloud, lost on an unfamiliar rural road. Some dust storms can be 20 miles wide.

    Truckers, more familiar with the area, take unauthorized detours into Navajo country, but the roads aren't designed for big rigs and the tribe complains.

    The storms even afflict patrol officers. The DPS spent $3,800 on goggles for officers because of the stinging sand; some reported workplace injuries from irritated contact lenses, said DPS Sgt. Gary Phelps, who has patrolled northern Arizona for most of his 23-year career.

    "This is a new phenomenon. We have never had these conditions," Phelps said. "As far as visibility, this is the worst I've ever seen. I've been in blowing snow, but I'd take a snowstorm over a dust storm any day. It's awful."

    Facts and theories

    ADOT says that, before spring 2009, it had never closed I-40 because of dust storms. At the beginning of that particularly windy season, officials had to close the stretch of interstate between Flagstaff and Winslow because of a bad accident caused by blinding dust.

    That's when authorities began to close the highway as a precaution. They watched the weather forecast for high winds and sent spotters into the dust to gauge visibility.

    "We didn't want to get into the problems (with accidents from dust storms) we've seen for decades between Phoenix and Tucson," Phelps said.

    I-10 in Pinal County and the remote deserts west of metro Phoenix have long been plagued by deadly dust storms. I-40 has had the wind, but until last year, not as much dust.

    National Weather Service forecasters and ADOT officials say dust kicks up at the troublesome part of I-40 when sustained winds top 35 mph; really dangerous conditions occur when it exceeds 45 mph.

    From 1997 to 2008, the area recorded winds of more than 35 mph an average 12 times from March through May, Weather Service forecaster Ken Daniel said. Last year, that happened 14 times, and so far this year, 15 times. Winds above 45 mph had occurred an average 1.5 days during those spring months, but last year, they happened six times, and this year, four.

    "The springs of 2009 and 2010 have been windier than normal, but these winds we have been recently experiencing are not unprecedented," Daniel said.

    High winds in northern Arizona, with recorded gusts as high as 70 mph, are caused by strong Pacific Ocean storms blowing through Nevada.

    The difference between the low-pressure storm front and high pressure over Arizona creates the dangerous gusts, which usually blow from the southwest across I-40.

    Theories vary as to why the winds are thick with dust: Historical flooding of the nearby Little Colorado River left a lake bed that steadily dried out into fine sand. The nearby area has been overgrazed. A decade of drought has dried the soil into dust.

    "It could be global warming, for all I know," said Phelps, of the DPS.

    True grit

    ADOT decides to close I-40 when visibility is too poor to drive safely at posted speeds. That has meant turning eastbound traffic around at a place called Two Guns, or occasionally farther back at Twin Arrows. Westbound traffic at first was stopped at Leupp Corner, but for more recent storms, farther back in Winslow.

    ADOT posts changeable message signs 60 miles away that warn of the dust ahead; it also encourages people to call 511 or visit az511.com for highway conditions before they travel.

    Still, with an average of 16,500 vehicles a day in the area, thousands of drivers get stranded in terrible conditions. People wait in their cars. Truckers sleep in their cabs. City streets, parking lots and shopping centers fill up with parked vehicles in Flagstaff and Winslow.

    If you step outside, "sometimes you have to stand next your car or you lose your footing," said Nuño, of ADOT.

    The agency has to place traffic cones along the off-ramps to prevent trucks from using them as a makeshift parking lot.

    When the dust clears, it can be just as dangerous. Disoriented drivers have parked their cars at awkward angles and people want to race to get to the front when the road reopens.

    Nuño and Phelps say the precautionary closures have probably prevented a catastrophe.

    That may be little comfort to truckers and the industries that rely on their tightly choreographed deliveries.

    ADOT says I-40 is the most heavily trucked highway in Arizona. Most are taking freight between Los Angeles and the Midwest.

    "Any time you have to disrupt the schedule of a delivery, it's not just a financial cost, it disrupts the entire supply chain," said Karen Rasmussen, president of the Arizona Trucking Association. "A truck has to arrive within a specific time slot for delivery."

    If the schedule is missed, manufacturers may have to shut down a plant because they don't have enough inventory. Grocers may not have enough produce, or perishables may start going bad. Trucks usually have return deliveries to make, and those get delayed.

    Northern Arizona's dust storms have become a national concern for the trucking industry, Rasmussen said.

    http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/ ... -I-40.html
    Last edited by JohnDoe2; 04-14-2019 at 04:27 PM.
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