PHOENIX – The monsoon season kicked into high gear on Thursday, producing gusty winds, lightning, heavy rainfall, hail and even dust across Arizona.
The most populated region in the state, Maricopa County, appeared to be one of the hardest hit locations, with thousands of power outages, diverted flights and the temporary suspension of the Arizona State University football game.
The FOX Forecast Center says a strong to severe thunderstorm that developed south of Phoenix likely produced winds in the range of 50-80 mph that caused a dust storm to develop.
A Dust Storm Warning was issued for parts of the metro, and the National Weather Service warned of visibilities of less than a quarter of a mile.
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Dust was seen entering Arizona State University’s stadium as the Sun Devils were taking on Southern Utah University in Tempe.
The game was temporarily suspended, and fans were asked to seek shelter until the weather improved.
PowerOutage.us reported around 80,000 outages across the state, with many located in Pinal, Yavapai and Maricopa counties.
A ground stop paused operations at Phoenix’s Sky Harbor International Airport, leading to several delays and cancelations. The airport encouraged passengers to check with their airline to determine the status of their flights.
The monsoon season began in June but got off to one of the slowest starts in memory, which led to historic heat waves across the Southwest.
An uptick in shower and thunderstorm activity is expected to continue through Saturday before drier weather works in Phoenix and much of Arizona over the Labor Day holiday.