AZ Trip #36: Final Blog: Dust Storm Imminent!

The large cloud of dust to our west! 

Some dust to our east covering the mountains

In today's final AZ Trip blog, you'll learn about what to do if you run into a severe dust storm as we did on our way from Tucson to Phoenix. Suddenly an emergency alert buzzed on both Dan's and my cell phones indicating the dust storm. We noticed that it was far to the northwest of us and fortunately, we missed it! Learn what to do if you encounter one - Read on!

If you run into a severe dust storm, reduce the speed of your vehicle immediately and drive carefully off the highway. After you are off the paved portion of the roadway, turn off your vehicle's lights to ensure other cars do not follow you off the road and hit your vehicle. ... Reduce speed and turn on driving lights


NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ADVICE IF DRIVING DURING A DUST STORM ALERT
If dense dust is observed blowing across or approaching a roadway, pull your vehicle off the pavement as far as possible, stop, turn off lights, set the emergency brake, take your foot off of the brake pedal to be sure the tail lights are not illuminated. Don't enter the dust storm area if you can avoid it.

ARIZONA DEPT OF TRANSPORTATION TIPS IF ON THE ROAD
ADOT says the number one thing you can do during a dust storm is not driving at all, in a recent release, the department offered the following suggestions for those on the road:
- If you're in a dust storm, check traffic around your car and begin slowing down immediately.
- Safely pull off the roadway as soon as possible. Don't wait until it's too late and visibility is poor. Drivers should completely exit the highway if possible.
- Avoid stopping in a travel or emergency lane. Try to find a safe place to pull all the way off the paved portion of the roadway.
- Once you're pulled over, turn off all vehicle lights. This will help keep other vehicles approaching from behind from using your lights as a guide and possibly crash into your parked car.
- Put on your emergency brake and then take your foot off the brake.
- As you wait for the storm to pass, stay in your car with your seat belt buckled.
- If you're driving a high-profile vehicle, you should be aware of changing weather conditions and drive at lower speeds.
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THAT'S ALL FOLKS - This marks the end of the Arizona trip blogs. Hope you've enjoyed the tour of southern Arizona. Now back to the regular mayhem.