Dust storms can create a wall of dust that miles wide and thousands of feet high. When one hits, visibility can drop down to a quarter of a mile or less.

When that happens, the local branch of the National Weather Service will send out a weather emergency alert. Odds are you've received one on your phone. Sirens, however, are not part of the messaging equation.

It turns out there are a few reasons why sirens aren't used during dust storms. Part of it has to do with infrastructure. The other has to do with which type of messaging is most effective during moments of hazardous weather.

In today's episode of Valley 101, a podcast from The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com, we're catching up with the National Weather Service and the Maricopa County Department of Emergency Management about dust storms and emergency messaging.

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