ADOT’s high-tech dust detection system is poised and ready for action when the first monsoons of 2021 roll into the Valley.

The first-of-its kind system was fine-tuned and activated in time for the official June 15 start of the 2020 monsoon season.

Only, except for a few cameo appearances, the star of that show failed to appear. By meteorological standards, monsoon season 2020 was pretty much a dud.

“It was a ‘nonsoon’,” said Larry Hopper, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. “It was the hottest and driest monsoon on record.”

Will monsoon season 2021 be any wetter? Maybe, maybe not, according to recent climate reports. Chances are equal for a similar, slightly wetter or slighty drier season than last year.

But hold onto your hats and remember your safe driving rules. Forecasts call for a "greater potential" for dust storms, blowing dust and wildfires in 2021, especially in the earlier part of the monsoon season.

ADOT expects the dust detection system installed along 10 miles of Interstate 10 to be in high gear this season.

May 2020 to April 2021 saw the driest 12 months since 1895. Last year's no-show brought little to saturate the ground. This leaves an above normal amount of dry earth that, if the wind blows sufficiently, become dust storms.

Kevin Duby, ADOT’s statewide road weather manager, said the system was deployed successfully during a few storms last year, but he is eager to put it to the test during what is anticipated to be a dustier season.

“It worked well,” Duby said. “The variable speed limits signs worked as intended and did reduce speeds.”  

The speed limits are only one part of the system, which stretches between Eloy and Picacho Peak, from mileposts 209 to 219. Severe storms can create hazardous driving conditions across the Valley, but this stretch gets more than its share.

The most dangerous aspect of monsoon storms is the lack of visibility that thick walls of dust create. It can be extremely difficult to see during a big dust storm, which is one reason ADOT has longed urged motorists to “Pull Aside, Stay Alive” during a monsoon storm.

On this 10-mile stretch, 13 visibility sensors use light beams to determine dust particle density, and once they hit certain levels, the system activates overhead message boards and variable speed limit signs.

Programmable speed limit signs every 1,000 feet can change the legal speed limit from 75 mph to 35 mph.

A weather tower – that's the big ball pictured on the right – can detect storms more than 40 miles away and send the data to ADOT and the National Weather Service.

Duby said ADOT is looking forward to receiving information from the system to help make roadways safer.

“We feel confident the system is working as intended and hopeful we’ll see more data coming in and see how the motoring public responds to conditions.”

Read how the system tracked the "nonsoon" season and some of the top awards it earned in the "Dust detection and warning system tracks its first season" article.

With its first monsoon season under its belt, data shows that ADOT’s innovative dust detection and warning system works as designed.

Monsoon 2020, however, was not the most robust weather event, jokingly dubbed a ‘nonsoon.’

“It was a mixed blessing,” said David Locher, resident engineer for the project. “Less dust storms is obviously a good thing when it comes to driving conditions; however, we didn't have the normal weather events that would have been ideal for data gathering in our first season.”

There was one 20-minute event that provided measurable data. At one point during that storm, visibility dropped to less than 300 feet, triggering the speed limit to drop to 35 mph, which happens incrementally. How did drivers react to the warning system? The loop detectors showed that the average vehicle was driving about 45 mph, a big drop from the normal 75 mph limit.

“We do know that the system is working — it is doing what it’s supposed to,” said Kevin Duby, statewide road weather manager. “Our next step is to take the data we have to evaluate and determine the efficiencies of the system to improve performance.”

Often debilitating, dust storms in the area between Tucson and Phoenix have been a safety concern for several years. A study from 2010 and 2015 detailed how traffic was impacted along that Interstate 10 corridor, showing 83 dust-related crashes with more than half of them occurring within about a half-mile of each other.

The 10-mile area between mileposts 209 and 219 was identified as the focus of safety efforts. In 2016, ADOT, Arizona Department of Public Safety and National Weather Service staff, as well as vendors and contractors, began creating a system to help Arizona drivers be better equipped to deal with dust storms. Nothing of this nature existed so it was a momentous undertaking and would require substantial funding. A Federal Highway Administration grant was secured to help fund the $72 million project, which also included widening I-10 and improvements to the State Route 87 traffic interchange.

The dust-detection technology employed includes overhead message boards, variable speed limit signs, closed-circuit cameras and short-range detectors for blowing dust. In addition, a long-range weather X-Band radar dish is part of the system, sitting atop a 22-foot-tall pole at the SR 87 interchange that can detect storms more than 40 miles away. X-Band is frequency range from 8 to 12 gigahertz, which is most often used for civil, military and government radar applications such as weather monitoring, air traffic control, maritime vessel traffic control, defense tracking and vehicle speed detection for law enforcement. Its lower frequencies make this band suitable for the harshest weather conditions, providing exceptionally high link availability for weather-monitoring radar solutions.

Despite the literally dry run this year, the first-of-its-kind dust-detection and warning system has already received some impressive kudos. It received regional recognition in the 2020 America’s Transportation Awards contest in the Operational Excellence category. Sponsored by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and AAA. The National Weather Service (NWS) also named ADOT as a 2020 Weather Ready Nation Ambassador of Excellence, for upholding the shared mission of protecting life and property through proactive public outreach and hazard mitigation efforts, and specificially cited the dust detection system.

This perfect storm of technology was assembled for this project, and its impact will be measured more in depth as time goes on.

It’s a tale as old as dust. Two down-on-their-luck songwriters team up and, against all odds, finagle a meeting with producers of a wildly successful website. At the meeting, the duo pitches co-writing a theme song. The producers are not impressed and summon security to toss the pair out. But one producer speaks out. She proposes giving the duo a chance, but with a catch. They must produce a song about dust storm safety and turn it around in one day. If they succeed, it might lead to future opportunities.

The songwriters take the challenge, write a catchy song and recruit gifted musicians to record it. The resulting recording takes the land by storm, becoming No. 1 Solid Gold on the Billboard Hot 100 and significantly boosting the website’s profile.

Time out for a reality check!

The account above is based on a true story, but I’ve taken artistic license with the facts for dramatic effect.

Now, it’s time to reveal the true back story of this "Behind the Music" tall tale.

John Walradt and I both work at ADOT – John as a graphic designer and I as a community relations project manager. We’ve played music together in the past and both enjoy songwriting. We decided to approach our co-workers in charge of the ADOT Kids program about adding some music to the interactive website.

The ADOT Kids producers warmed to the idea after hearing recordings of some of our individual songs. Our first thought was to co-write a theme song for the website, but the producers saw an opportunity to try something different to promote ADOT’s annual Pull Aside, Stay Alive campaign, which focuses on dust-storm safety. They asked us to compose a song for young people that emphasizes how to stay safe in a dust storm.   

John composed the verses and I wrote the chorus. We split up the lyric writing, each penning a verse and collaborating on the chorus. We recorded a rough cut of the song and shared it with the ADOT Kids producers who approved the project.

Next, we recruited in-house talent to help us record the song. In keeping with safety guidelines due to the current public health situation, we recorded the song parts individually. With help from ADOT’s Video Services team, I laid down a guitar track and lead vocal track in the recording booth at ADOT. That me in the booth in the top photo. Next, Gaby Kemp, another community relations project manager, and her talented daughters Naomi, 7, and Raquel, 6, added enthusiastic background vocals.

Doug Nick, assistant communications director for customer outreach and an accomplished drummer, recorded a drum track at home and emailed it to John, who added a keyboard part and vocal harmony in his home studio. As this photo shows, John mixed all the tracks and, voilà, the yet-unnamed dust storm song was brought to life.

Although the “true” story pales in comparison to the hyped "Behind the Music" version, I still feel like we turned dust into gold, gold forged through teamwork and a spirit of fun.

There's just one little catch: This future hit still needs a name! And that's where you come in. Whether you're a kid or a kid at heart, we need your help coming up with a fun title for our song.

So here's how you help. First off, give our song a listen, then email your idea for a title to [email protected] by close of business Monday, July 6, and we'll pick our favorite. We'll announce the winners next week on the ADOT Blog and on ADOT's social media channels. 

You are driving down the highway when, straight ahead, you see a wall of swirling dust in front of you. It's a dust storm on the move, and it's crossing the highway. What do you do?

Planning for changing weather conditions is a must for all drivers. We talk a lot about how you should "Know Snow," but making the right choices when encountering a dust storm is equally important. That's why we put together this quiz to see if you know how to keep yourself safe. Whether you are learning for the first time or just need a refresher, test your knowledge of dust storm safety tips in the quiz below!

You can also find more information at FocusOnDriving.com and PullAsideStayAlive.org.

Over the decades, technology sure has changed but the weather-related issues facing Arizona drivers haven’t.

Back in 1973, the Arizona Highway Department launched a dust warning system that included 40 changeable message signs along 81 miles of Interstates 8 and 10 near Casa Grande. The signs were designed to display two different messages warning drivers of wind or dust. According to agency bulletins from that time, the messages were changed by DPS dispatchers in Phoenix using radio signals. Later, in 1976, ADOT modified the signs to refer motorists to specific AM radio stations for current advisories.

Today, we’re working on a dust detection and warning system on I-10 near the community of Picacho that will alert drivers to dangerous conditions. It is a little more advanced than what we had in the 1970s but the goal of our efforts remains the same – we want motorists to be aware of the situation ahead so they can make good decisions.

The new system will combine a number of technologies that you can read about on the project’s webpage. But no matter what type of warning system is in place, all drivers need to know that the most important thing they can do is to not drive into a dust storm. Visibility can very quickly drop to zero, putting everyone in a dangerous situation.

If you do encounter a dust storm and you don’t have time to exit the highway, remember these tips:

• Immediately check traffic around your vehicle (front, back and to the side) and begin slowing down.
• Do not wait until poor visibility makes it difficult to safely pull off the roadway – do it as soon as possible. Completely exit the highway if you can.
• Do not stop in a travel lane or in the emergency lane. Look for a safe place to pull completely off the paved portion of the roadway.
• Turn off all vehicle lights, including your emergency flashers. You do not want other vehicles approaching from behind to use your lights as a guide, possibly crashing into your parked vehicle.
• Set your emergency brake and take your foot off the brake.
• Stay in the vehicle with your seatbelts buckled and wait for the storm to pass.

Find more information online at pullasidestayalive.org and focusondriving.com/dust-storms.