Campus Alert Archive
ASU

A Haboob, Lightning and Rain Clear the Stadium During ASU's Season Opener

AZsevere stormadvisoryhigh confidence
Confirmed Threat

A monsoon haboob followed by lightning and heavy rain hit Mountain America Stadium in Tempe just before 9 p.m. MST at halftime of Arizona State's September 1, 2023 season opener against Southern Utah, prompting the ASU Police Department to evacuate the stadium. Play was suspended for more than two hours before resuming before a nearly empty stadium.

Alerts
3
Response
—
Killed
—
Injured
—
Institution
Arizona State University
Public R1 · AZ
~145,000 studentsASU Alert
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

3 messages in sequence · 3 verified verbatim

INITIAL ALERTTwitter/X
Verified verbatim@ASUFootball official X account post at halftime of the September 1, 2023 home opener, quoted verbatim by KSL Sports and multiple outlets199 chars
To the fans in attendance, the weather in the area is temporarily delaying the start of the second half. We ask that you leave the stadium and seek shelter. We will give another update in 30 minutes.
Confirmed verbatim from @ASUFootball's official X post, quoted by KSL Sports ('SUU's Season Opener At ASU Hits Weather Delay At Halftime'), Deseret News, and multiple other outlets — all citing identical text.
The evacuation order came as a haboob folded into lightning; fans were directed out of the stadium and to seek shelter.
Arizona does not observe daylight saving time, so the timestamp is MST year-round (UTC-7).
The '30 minute' update promise and the evacuation directive are the core actionable elements of this notification.
UPDATETwitter/X
Verified verbatim@ASUFootball official X account update at approximately 9:18 PM MST, quoted by 12news.com ('Storms delay ASU football's home opener, stadium evacuated')145 chars
Lightning strikes continue within 8 miles. Currently at least 45 minutes before we can get players on the field or allow fans back in the stands.
Confirmed verbatim from @ASUFootball's official X account, cited by 12news.com as posted 'At 9:18 p.m. Arizona time' during the delay.
The '8 miles' threshold matches ASU's documented lightning policy trigger distance.
The 30-minute window had already extended to 45 minutes by this point due to continued lightning strikes.
ALL CLEARTwitter/X
Verified verbatim@ASUFootball official X account post announcing resumption, quoted verbatim by KSL Sports and Arizona Sports161 chars
The news we've all been waiting for! After an eight minute warmup we will start the second half! Fans if you left Mountain America Stadium, you can come back in!
Confirmed verbatim from @ASUFootball's official X post, quoted by KSL Sports ('SUU's Season Opener At ASU Hits Weather Delay At Halftime') and Arizona Sports ('ASU-Southern Utah game to resume following two-hour delay').
Genuine all-clear: invites fans back into the stadium and announces the second half will begin after an eight-minute warmup.
The exclamation-heavy, fan-facing tone reflects ASU Athletics' branding register — notably warmer than most emergency-notification all-clears.
Context

Background

Mountain America Stadium (long known as Sun Devil Stadium) sits in the path of Arizona's summer monsoon, which can produce both lightning and walls of blowing dust called haboobs. On September 1, 2023, blowing dust, lightning and wind hit at halftime of ASU's opener against Southern Utah, and the ASU Police Department evacuated the stadium. The State Press reported the suspension came just before 9 p.m. MST, and NBC noted the monsoon dust storm delayed the game for hours; play resumed about 11:18 p.m. MST with only a few hundred fans left, and ASU won 24-21.
Analysis

Key Findings

The delay combined a haboob (dust storm) with lightning, an unusually compound weather hazard for a stadium evacuation
ASU's trigger is an eight-mile lightning radius cleared for 30 minutes before reopening
The suspension just before 9 p.m. MST stretched past two hours, with play resuming about 11:18 p.m. MST
Arizona stays on MST year-round (no DST), so all timestamps use the -07:00 standard offset
Outcome
Play resumed at about 11:18 p.m. MST after a delay exceeding two hours; ASU beat Southern Utah 24-21 in front of a few hundred remaining fans.
Provenance

Sources

  1. News
    ASU-Southern Utah game to resume following two-hour delay - Arizona Sports
    arizonasports.com
  2. Student Paper
    Dust Bowl: Rain, lightning and dust storm spoil Sun Devil season opener - The Arizona State Press
    statepress.com
  3. News
    Blowing dust, haboob delay ASU-Southern Utah football coming out of half - ABC15
    abc15.com
  4. national media
    Monsoon triggers massive dust storm in Arizona, delaying college football game - NBC
    nbcnewyork.com
  5. News
    SUU's Season Opener At ASU Hits Weather Delay At Halftime - KSL Sports (quotes @ASUFootball tweets verbatim)
    kslsports.com
  6. Social
    @ASUFootball official X account (source of all three verbatim alert tweets)
    x.com
Tags
severe-stormhaboobdust-stormlightningweather-delaystadiumarizonaevacuationmonsoon
Added May 2026Updated June 2026Via ingestion