Hazard · Pull aside
Dust storms
If you cannot see the road, you are not late. You are stopped. Lights off, foot off the brake.
Federal steps in this chapter do not change by state. Local orders for Arizona come from Arizona Department of Emergency Management.
5 min read · Updated October 2026
Pull aside, stay alive
Arizona DOT’s dust-storm message is taught for a reason. Blowing dust drops visibility to zero in seconds, especially on valley freeways and open desert highways in monsoon season. If a wall of dust is ahead and you can still exit, get off the highway. If you are caught in it: do not stop in the travel lane. Pull as far off the roadway as you safely can. Turn off all lights, including brake lights, so another driver does not follow your glow and hit you. Set the parking brake. Take your foot off the brake pedal. Stay belted. Wait until the storm passes.
Do not try to outrun a dust wall at freeway speed. Check NWS Phoenix before long drives in monsoon season, and delay the trip when blowing-dust advisories are up.
At home
Close windows and bring pets in. Dust aggravates asthma the way wildfire smoke does. If you use a rescue inhaler, it should already be in the go-bag and the daily bag, not in a cabinet you cannot find while coughing. Afterward, watch for downed lines before you clear debris.
Checklist
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Sources
Public pages this chapter leans on. They win if anything here is out of date.
- Arizona Department of Transportation
Pull Aside, Stay Alive dust campaign and road conditions
- NWS Phoenix
Blowing dust and monsoon warnings
- Ready.gov — Be informed
Know the hazard where you drive