Monsoon

PHOENIX – With strong monsoon storms forecast in much of Arizona going into the weekend, be ready to pull aside and wait out extreme weather.

Please heed this advice: Get off the highways when facing a dust storm. In almost no time, blowing dust can drop visibility to zero, especially where small dust channels afford drivers little or no opportunity to avoid this hazard.

You've mastered what to do when driving in a dust storm, but do you know how to stay safe in a downpour?

Extreme summer heat has already hit the state, but that's not all the extreme weather Arizonans will face this summer. Be prepared for the weather that will come our way.

PHOENIX – Coming soon: Spectacular sunsets and brief heat relief from monsoon moisture.

Also coming soon: Low- or no-visibility on roadways caused by dust storms.

Monsoon season is returning to Arizona and during Monsoon Awareness Week, June 12-16, the Arizona Department of Transportation is reminding drivers how to stay safe on roadways when dust storms arrive.

Monsoon season is around the corner and ADOT plans projects around the weather, ensuring projects are completed on time.

With more monsoon rain in the forecast this week, we're explaining the climatological features responsible for monsoon storms.

Meteorologist Paul Panhans recently shared what forecasters look for when predicting blowing dust and where some of the trouble spots are located.

Drivers are reminded to ‘Pull Aside, Stay Alive’ this monsoon season.

Our new "Pull Aside, Stay Alive" video helps spread dust storm safety message.

We’re loving all the Haboob Haikus that have been rolling in this week… Like last year, this poetry challenge with the funny name has helped us accomplish an important goal, which is to get people talking about the danger of driving in dust storms. Because we cannot forget that dust storms can pose very real risks to motorists in this state – just take a look at the video above for proof.

Last year, ADOT launched its very first “Haboob Haiku” challenge in an effort to spread the word about dust storm safety and the response was pretty amazing. That’s actually a huge understatement ... Not only did we receive over 600 original haikus (some even by phone and snail mail), but #HaboobHaiku yielded stories in media outlets all over the world (they even wrote about it in New Zealand!).

Monsoon season officially begins today, and brings with it some potentially hazardous driving conditions that all motorists should be prepared for.