A new sign alerts arriving travelers to Arizona's extreme weather events at Tucson International Airport.
A new sign collection at the Tucson International Airport is alerting tourists to Arizona’s most common severe weather conditions.
The airport unveiled the first sign this week in partnership with the National Weather Service in Tucson and the University of Arizona’s Department of Hydrology and Atmospheric Sciences.
Professor Laura Condon said out of state travelers are often unprepared for dust storms, flash flooding, and extreme heat, which can be dangerous.
“I'm from Colorado. So I had never heard of a haboob, which is a dust storm, until I came here, and I did not know what to do until I saw the signs on the highway driving down saying, ‘Pull over, turn off your lights,’” she said.
The University’s Water Whys team is a collaborative effort across hydrology, broadcast meteorology, and graphic design, said Condon.
“We have hydrology students with students from any major in the university, together with graphic designers to learn about graphical communication, and we create graphical explanations of scientific processes to help the general public,” she said.
Student Anika McKee said the design choices were intentional to communicate quickly.
“We didn't want to use many words on the sign, because it's maybe 20 seconds that people see it. So we have a lot of motion, or a lot of images hinting at motion for directions to take. For the heat safety, it's a lot of drinking water, wearing the correct protective gear,” she said.
In addition to dust storms and extreme heat, it advises travelers to turn around if they run into a flash flood.
The electronic billboard is displayed over the escalators from arriving gates, and more signs will be added to screens above baggage claim. The Tucson International Airport saw about 4 million travelers in 2024.
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