Massive Saharan dust clouds to approach Florida, Gulf this weekend
Two large Saharan dust clouds are headed west from Africa towards the United States.
Dust in the Caribbean on visible satellite Friday morning. (NOAA/CIRA)
It’s Saharan dust season in the Atlantic, the time of year when massive clouds of dust from Africa’s Sahara Desert are carried westward by winds, sometimes traveling thousands of miles to the United States.
Where is the dust now?
Satellite photos from Sunday showed one primary dust plume in the western Caribbean Sea, over Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula and across the southern Gulf of America.
Unhealthy air quality was observed across Belize and across the Yucatan Peninsula, where dust concentrations are highest.
When will the dust hit the United States?
AccuWeather meteorologists say most of the dust is likely to stay aloft rather than fall to the ground when it arrives in the United States, which is good news for health concerns. However, the airborne dust can cause hazy conditions and sometimes colorful sunrises and sunsets.
"Some of the dust from the first cloud could drift over South Florida this weekend and South Texas early this week," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Dan Pydynowski said.
Dust forecast from Friday afternoon to Sunday evening.
The highest dust concentrations this weekend will be from the Caribbean to the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico.
How does the dust affect tropical storms in the Atlantic?
Significant amounts of dust can inhibit tropical storm formation or prevent an existing storm from strengthening because the dusty air contains about 50% less moisture than the typical tropical atmosphere.
Strong winds in the dust layer can also substantially increase the vertical wind shear in and around the storm environment, potentially disrupting any storm that forms.
Despite the dust, AccuWeather meteorologists are monitoring the Atlantic for tropical development this week close to the coast of the United States.
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