Monsoon weather.....what to expect and when to expect it? (Goodyear: new home, mall)

[sassieb75]

Originally Posted by sablebaby

Oh noooo! It's SOOOO cool!!!! I LOVE the monsoon season....except for the humidity. I love big storms. We just don't get enough of them here.

DITTO!!! I love it too.....I actually like going outside in it occasionally...is that bad?

[TurcoLoco]

Originally Posted by nitram

HX_Guy is correct. The DPS says to pull over as far as possible, turn off all lights, keep your foot off the brake so not one follows you and starts a chain reaction by running into you.

I am sorry but it makes no sense to me to pull over and turn the lights off in a near zero-visibility storm. Wouldn't people end up running into me if I was not visible at all?

[country pride]

Originally Posted by Magnum Mike

During the monsoon season, lightning strikes are frequent, and one important thing to do is stay away from tall trees, and don't be "The tallest" standing object in an open area since lightning always strikes such objects.

As others mentioned here, the best place to stay is inside. Also, make sure your expensive appliances, like a big screen TV, are plugged into surge protectors.

I'll have to remember that when Im up on a roof installing one of those weatherheads for an electrical panel, lol.

[wit-nit]

Originally Posted by TurcoLoco

I am sorry but it makes no sense to me to pull over and turn the lights off in a near zero-visibility storm. Wouldn't people end up running into me if I was not visible at all?

More people have been killed causing chain reaction accidents by people not turning off their lights and leaving their foot on the brake when pulled off the road. All the Police Depts, the Department of Public Safety, and the AZ State Transportation Dept tell you to pull off the road and turn your lights "off", otherwise people will try to follow your lights and ram your patooty and cause soime serious problems. Common sense tells you safety first.
As soon a the dust storms roll in, all the news media will be telling you this same scenario, pull over turn off your lights.
Every year some dufus doesn't follow the rules and causes a pile up of 40-50 vehicles..

[wit-nit]

The following is from the Arizona Dept of Transportation web site:
Blinding, blowing dust storms, frequent in Arizona during the summer, cause reduced visibility to near zero, creating unexpected and unsafe conditions for motorists. How you react in a dust storm can save your life and the life of others, prevent injuries, and reduce property damage.
Also called a "HABOOB," dust storms are most common between May and September in Maricopa and Pima County.

Although brief, dust storms must be taken seriously because they cause blinding conditions on the highways. Each year, an average of five people lose their lives and many more are seriously injured as a result of sudden, violent dust storms.

Never stop in the middle of the road. Pull off the road and "TURN OFF YOUr LIGHTS". Activate your emergency brake, and remove your foot from the brake pedal.

[twiggy]

Well I know what they say but I didn't have my lights on and got hit by someone who was trying to pull over to the shoulder and didn't see my car. I guess try and pull off the freeway completely and pull into a parking lot.

[country pride]

Actually I have been in a few of those storms, we see them coming while on the freeway and once they hit, you are blinded. A few years ago we were coming back from Chandler and took the back roads home when we saw one coming. It was only a matter of minutes before it was going to hit but we didnt want to be on the freeway.
By the time it hit, we had already pulled off the road and into the desert about a good 150' or so. Aside form the bizarre details, by the time it was over and cleared up, we noticed the Jeep was completely turned in a 180 degree direction, facing the opposite way we pulled up! Either way, we made sure we were WAY off the road, just in case, and it was a good thing.
Beware of those microbursts, theyre sorta like a mini-tornado (the only way I can describe one) but just as powerful. One year there was one out in old Maricopa somewhere on a lot where a house had just been built and the septic was just the day before, put into the ground, but wasnt hooked up yet so it hadnt been covered over. The roof was ripped off the house and the septic was sucked out of the ground somehow and ended up completely upside down on the lot. Thank gawd no one was around to be crushed.

[twiggy]

Originally Posted by L_A_Woman

Actually I have been in a few of those storms, we see them coming while on the freeway and once they hit, you are blinded. A few years ago we were coming back from Chandler and took the back roads home when we saw one coming. It was only a matter of minutes before it was going to hit but we didnt want to be on the freeway.
By the time it hit, we had already pulled off the road and into the desert about a good 150' or so. Aside form the bizarre details, by the time it was over and cleared up, we noticed the Jeep was completely turned in a 180 degree direction, facing the opposite way we pulled up! Either way, we made sure we were WAY off the road, just in case, and it was a good thing.
Beware of those microbursts, theyre sorta like a mini-tornado (the only way I can describe one) but just as powerful. One year there was one out in old Maricopa somewhere on a lot where a house had just been built and the septic was just the day before, put into the ground, but wasnt hooked up yet so it hadnt been covered over. The roof was ripped off the house and the septic was sucked out of the ground somehow and ended up completely upside down on the lot. Thank gawd no one was around to be crushed.

WOW, I have seen those microbursts on the news, well there damage, but have never had an experience. I think your right though, you can see that cloud for miles first, just get off the freeway. When I was hit on the shoulder I slid into another car because I didn't have the brake on just like they tell ya, so either way on the freeway is not a place to be in a dust storm. Glad you made it through the burst ok!

[JeepGirl118]

Originally Posted by twiggy

Yes, please do pull over and keep your foot on the brakes so lights are bright behind you. The people who don't pull over are the ones in trouble. Since the timing of the monsoon is usually at rush hour after work a lot of people try to beat it home, bad idea, it's like a minnie sand blizzard. The bad visibility only lasts minutes.

Twiggy has a big point there. I am trying to recall where that huge accident was last year with approx 14-16 cars and one Semi during that one monsoon - was it off the I-10 just south of Phoenix? Can remember the story vaguely. The worst thing you can do is not pull over and to *not* keep your foot on the brake once you do. Remember that please, I might be behind you this season.

[country pride]

There were a few of them, when they hit, you can bet theres going to be something on the news within an hour. There are usually always pileups on any of the freeways/roadways and/or highways where they occur. When a dust storm hits and youre on the road, you (usually) cant so much as see the hood of your truck, much less anything ahead of you, thats how thick it is.