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(Photos by Beth Easterbrook)
Extreme weather conditions greeted students on their first day of classes this semester when temperatures rose above 110 Thursday afternoon and a large dust storm hit the Phoenix area in the evening.Temperatures reached 112 degrees in the afternoon — the highest students have experienced on the first day of classes for the last three years. In 2008 and 2009, students began the year with 104-degree highs and in 2010, temperatures rose to 109.
“It feels like a heat wall that’s hitting you and smacking you in the face over and over,” film studies sophomore John Strauch said of the extreme heat.
Tempe Fire spokesman Mike Reichling said students should take precautions when dealing with the heat.
Walking from building to building, riding bikes around campus and especially hiking “A” Mountain are all ways of becoming susceptible to heat exhaustion and heat stroke, he said.
Reichling said drinking lots of water as well as wearing sunscreen, light colored clothing, wide-brimmed hats, close-toed shoes are all ways students can beat the heat.
Then at approximately 5:55 p.m., a large dust storm swept through the Phoenix Valley with wind speeds between 25 and 35 mph, according to the National Weather Service. The dusty winds extended from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport to downtown Scottsdale, reducing visibility to less than one-quarter mile.
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(Photos Courtesy of Chen Hao)
Applied mathematics senior Jessica Grado was on her way to catch ASU’s intercampus shuttle on the Tempe campus when the storm hit.“I’m from the West campus normally, so I have to take the shuttle an hour away,” Grado said. “I’m not too excited about taking the shuttle in this kind of weather. I’m kind of bummed that I didn’t bring my sunglasses today because I’ve had least five dust particles in my eyes.”
Tony Brazel, a retired ASU professor of geography and climatology, attributed the unusually frequent dust storms this summer to a dry climate with below average precipitation. This could mean more dust storms in the near future, he said.
If the dryness keeps up we could see more storms in September, Brazel said. Most dust storms happen at the beginning of monsoon season before moisture increases.
According to the National Weather Service, if a person is caught in a dust storm, he or she should “pull off the road as far as possible and put your vehicle in park. Turn the lights all the way off and keep your foot off the brake pedal.”
Reach the reporters at kmmandev@asu.edu and sraymund@asu.edu
