Meteorologists Introduce New Tool to Classify Arizona’s Dust Storms
Arizona’s monsoon season is notorious for its dramatic dust storms, often leaving residents in awe and sometimes in danger. With safety in mind, a group of 22 meteorologists and weather specialists have unveiled a novel tool designed to better understand and categorize these natural phenomena.
Over several years, this team has diligently worked to create the first-ever standardized dust storm scale, drawing parallels to the Enhanced Fujita scale used for tornadoes. The primary objective of this initiative is to enhance public safety by providing a clear framework for assessing the severity of dust storms.
Erica Hoyt and Kayla McDonald, reporters for Cronkite News, along with student meteorologists, tracked the development of this Phoenix Dust scale throughout its trial run during the 2025 monsoon season. Their observations and insights offer a glimpse into how the scale operates and the collaborative efforts that brought it to fruition.
The detailed process of its creation and the initial application of the Phoenix Dust scale can be explored further in an article on Cronkite News. This work is shared under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
