Here are tips on how to drive during monsoon storms in Arizona

PHOENIX — Monsoon season has officially arrived to the Valley, and drivers are being reminded of travel safety while on the road.

During the season, dust storms often come before rainfall, blocking the sun as visibility decreases to nearly nothing.

For drivers confronted with severe weather, the Arizona Department of Transportation’s most important advice is, “Pull Aside, Stay Alive.”

To minimize dangerous situations, drivers are advised to avoid driving into or through a dust storm.

If stuck in a dust storm, drivers are told to slow down, pull off the road, turn off the vehicle lights and wait for the storm to pass with your seatbelt buckled.

For those driving down a 10-mile stretch of the Interstate 10 between Eloy and Picacho Peak, a dust detection system, which includes electronic variable speed limit signs, will reduce speed limits from 75 mph to as low as 35 mph if blowing dust decreases visibility to unsafe travel levels, ADOT said in a press release.

Overhead message boards along the 10-mile stretch and in the Valley will warn drivers of the need to reduce speed and of reduced visibility.

During storms, ADOT posts messages and updates to overhead highways signs, the 5-1-1 travel information line and social media.

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