Dust that had settled over the Valley was expected to remain through Saturday morning, with forecasters warning of the possibility of a dust storm later that night as monsoon conditions begin to ramp up. Officials and medical specialists urged residents to be alert, especially people with underlying respiratory problems, young children and older adults, because the airborne material stirred up by these storms can carry more than just fine dirt.
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A massive dust wall (haboob) pushes across the Phoenix metropolitan area, dramatically reducing visibility and raising respiratory health concerns as the monsoon ramps up.
Chief Meteorologist Royal Norman said this season’s relative lack of rainfall could make dust events worse than usual. "We think that this year, because it’s been a long time since we’ve had any rain, and our monsoon has not really gotten here, our monsoon rains, the dust storms might be with us for a couple of weeks, even after we get a day or two of rain," Norman said, describing how limited wetting of the landscape can allow dust to be lifted repeatedly as winds and storms move through.
Medical specialists said that when a haboob or other dust event moves through the Valley, the plume contains a mixture of materials that can affect health. "When dust passes through, there is not only dust, there are other particles," said Dr. Michell Lozano Chinga, a pediatric allergist and immunologist at Phoenix Children’s Hospital. She explained that the mix can include pollutants, pollen and fungal spores — microscopic components that can lodge in the nose or travel down into the lungs depending on their size.
Public health data chronicling coccidioidomycosis, commonly known as Valley Fever, underscore why those fungal particles are a concern. A recent report shows Valley Fever case counts roughly doubled from 2005 through 2022. Within Arizona, Maricopa County recorded the most cases, followed by Pima and Pinal counties. Preliminary county-level figures show more than 8,500 cases in Maricopa County last year and nearly 3,300 so far this year.
Symptoms of Valley Fever vary widely and can range from no symptoms at all to more obvious respiratory problems. Coughing, wheezing or difficulty breathing are among the manifestations clinicians see; in some patients the infection worsens and spreads beyond the lungs. "There are some patients which may have some higher risk factors to get more severe and disseminated infections that can affect not only the lungs, but sometimes muscles, the brain and other parts of your body," Dr. Lozano Chinga said, noting that while most cases are self-limiting, severe and life-threatening presentations require medical treatment.
Health officials in the county say the bulk of Valley Fever symptoms will subside without specific therapy within a few months, but they caution that severe or disseminated infections typically prompt doctors to prescribe antifungal medications. Given the mix of pollutants, pollen and spores that may ride on dust plumes, clinicians stressed the importance of reducing exposure during active storms and advising higher-risk patients to take additional precautions.
Heavy monsoon clouds and rain build over the region — conditions meteorologists say can coincide with and influence dust storm activity across the Valley.
When a dust storm approaches, experts say the simplest steps can reduce exposure. Dr. Lozano Chinga recommended that people get indoors as quickly as possible, close and secure windows, and run air purifiers if available. Local public health and weather officials continue to monitor conditions as monsoon moisture moves into the region, and they advise residents to follow shelter-in-place guidance during blowing dust events and to seek medical care if they develop concerning respiratory symptoms.
As the 2026 monsoon ramps up, a new five-tier Phoenix dust storm scale developed by 13 organizations using 22 sensors across the area is debuting this season to better categorize haboob intensity and improve public warnings. Local forecasters say this could help contextualize the dust events expected in coming weeks.
The new five-tier system is formally named the Phoenix Dust Storm (PHX‑DUST) scale; it was developed by a consortium led by Arizona State University with contributions from local meteorologists, the National Weather Service, the Maricopa County Flood Control District and other partners, and a methodological description of the scale—built from localized meteorological and air‑quality data covering 2010–2023 and the network of 22 sensors—appears in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society.
A February 19, 2026 MMWR analysis using Arizona Department of Health Services surveillance data found that 152,446 coccidioidomycosis cases were reported in Arizona during 2005–2022, that annual incidence approximately doubled over that period, and that more than 95% of cases were reported from the Sonoran Desert region (primarily Maricopa, Pima and Pinal counties).