Blinding storms roll across desert, causing pileups and injuring at least 15

October 6, 2011 – PHOENIX - A blinding dust storm rolled across the Arizona desert Tuesday, causing three pileups involving dozens of vehicles on a major interstate. One man was killed and at least 15 other people were injured, authorities said. The first two crashes occurred just after noon as a dust storm suddenly covered Interstate 10 near Picacho, about midway between Phoenix and Tucson. Those collisions involved 16 vehicles and led to the fatality. News footage showed dust roiling over dozens of cars, tractor-trailers and ambulances pulled over or strewn about the highway. Authorities were unable to transport injured motorists by helicopter because of the heavy dust. “It looked like a war zone,” Patrick Calhoun, one of the first rescuers to responder to the scene, told The Associated Press. “This has been one of the worst pileups we’ve had on the I-10.” Calhoun, with the Avra Valley Fire District, said the man who died was in the passenger seat of a car driven by a woman who appeared to be his wife. Their car had slammed into the back of a semi and was lodged underneath it, killing the man almost instantly and leaving the woman critically injured in a semiconscious state of shock. Calhoun said it took 45 minutes to hook up winches to the vehicle, pull it out and then cut the woman out of the car to take her to a hospital. A second vehicle also was lodged under a semi, Calhoun said, and two people were extricated in a similar manner before being taken to a hospital. Blowing dust was a factor in both accidents and prevented a rescue helicopter from landing at either scene, Arizona public safety department spokesman Bart Graves told Reuters. “Deputies reported zero visibility when they arrived at the scene. There’s still almost no visibility. The storm is just hovering around out there,” he added. A third pileup occurred almost two hours later on I-10 just north of Casa Grande and involved eight vehicles. No one was killed in that collision; two people had serious but non-life-threatening injuries, Graves said. Katie Maass, a spokeswoman at University Medical Center in Tucson, said the hospital was treating 12 patients involved in the collisions. Three were listed as critical and the other nine were in serious condition. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44782434/ns/weather/

I was commuting when this storm rolled in.
It wasn't nearly as bad in central Phoenix.

I remember thinking "Here we go again!"

That stretch near Picacho is fairly barren, so I am not surprised
the wind whipped up the dust to the point no one could see.

I'm surprised to see these type of winds this time of year C1 as usually this happens in Springtime. Even the trade winds here have been intense of late.

The weather is freaky all the way around right now. Here in Idaho we are having rain now for 3 days solid! This is suppose to be a dessert. It never does this here.

This is very weird. We have huge puddles all around our construction site, more like little lakes. I havent seen this in the two years weve been here... This storm is massive.. although not particularly dangerous for us... but, this storm will move somewhere to the midwest and they should have it by tomorrow. We shall see what it brings for them.. all this past year as the midwest got slammed by tornados and hale, it was from what previously past over us... they could be in for it.. and possibly a lot of snow. It snowed here today... but now back to rain.

I just read this

'Unusual' fall storm hits California/Western Australia-It is very bizarre to have a hail storm in spring

'This is more typical of a winter storm'

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — An early fall storm stranded big rigs in the Sierra Nevada and snarled roadways throughout California on Wednesday while unleashing gusty winds and snow in the mountains.

Showers hit Southern California, causing scattered fender-benders during the morning commute.

Westbound Interstate 80 reopened through the Sierra Nevada after being closed by stranded big-rigs and spun-out vehicles near Truckee for more than two hours.
"No injuries. But we still have a lot of big rigs stacked up," said California Highway Patrol dispatcher Kim Emery. "They're either waiting or they're chaining up."
Drivers were required to put on tire chains at higher elevations.

"It's a storm similar to early December, but we just got it in early October," said Johnnie Powell, a National Weather Service forecaster in Sacramento.
No major damage was reported. Temperatures were expected to return to normal by the Columbus Day holiday weekend.

The Central Valley had a half-inch to an inch of rain, while Redding had 1.77 inches overnight. The Sierra foothills had about 1.5 inches of rain.
Sierra summits had six inches of snow and another six inches to a foot was expected by Thursday."
http://www.wpri.com/dpps/weather/us_wx_news/early-fall-storm-brings-rain-to-california-nt11-jgr_3957972

...and also had read that Tahoe hadn't had snow this early since 1969. This is going to be another La Nina winter.

Western Australia: Freak hail storm traps Bunbury couple
Oct 05, 2011 - Local residents fought their way out of a ditch during the freakish spring hail storm on Sunday.

Brenda and Michael Joubert were on a leisurely Sunday drive when they became caught up in the middle of a hail storm in the Ferguson Valley.

The couple pulled their car over to the side of the road under a tree to prevent the car from being damaged but all of the water forced the car to slip sideways into the ditch.

"My window was about a foot away from the ground," Mrs Joubert said.

The couple didn't receive any help for around half an hour when a man with his land cruiser was able to pull them out.

"We were a bit traumatised but there was no damage thank goodness," she said.

Mrs Joubert said that they have never seen anything like this happen in the area.

It has been reported that wineries in the region have been damaged from the unique storm.

The hail storm came after a perfect spring day where it was 25.1 degrees.

Bureau of Meteorology climate information officer John Relf said this was the hottest start to October on record.

"It is very bizarre to have a hail storm in spring, it went from one extreme to the other," he said.
http://www.bunburymail.com.au/article.aspx?id=2314219

Carol wrote:I'm surprised to see these type of winds this time of year C1 as usually this happens in Springtime. Even the trade winds here have been intense of late.

I agree, Carol.

The weather has been off in many places around the globe.

It only just started cooling down here after a VERY hot, dry summer with
multiple dust storms.

Hot and dry there C1, cool and wet here. It's been about 10 cooler on this end of the island this past summer and fall. Feels more like winter with cool/cold nights as well. Even Mauna Kea had a freak snow storm in September.

I don't know what to think anymore about the weather. There is no normal anymore. Just unusual.