Published 18 May 2022
Basseterre
Buckie Got It St. Kitts and Nevis News Source
Saharan dust cloud over the Atlantic may reach Gulf Coast by weekend
The first trans-Atlantic Saharan dust cloud of 2022 could approach the Gulf Coast states this weekend, bringing the possibility of health hazards along with hazy skies.
The enormous plume of dust referred to as a Saharan Air Layer (SAL) is made of dry air carrying dust from the Sahara Desert as it embarks on a journey across the Atlantic Ocean. The dust makes its annual trip from May to August and can reach as far as the central United States, spiking air pollution and agitating health issues.
As of Tuesday, the dust was still over the Atlantic, with computer model simulations projecting that the dust cloud will sweep across the Caribbean before it could possibly reach the shores of the U.S. Gulf Coast.
Adriana NavarroTue, May 17, 2022, 6:50 PM·5 min read
The first trans-Atlantic Saharan dust cloud of 2022 could approach the Gulf Coast states this weekend, bringing the possibility of health hazards along with hazy skies.
The enormous plume of dust referred to as a Saharan Air Layer (SAL) is made of dry air carrying dust from the Sahara Desert as it embarks on a journey across the Atlantic Ocean. The dust makes its annual trip from May to August and can reach as far as the central United States, spiking air pollution and agitating health issues.
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“A large batch of dust was evident on satellite photos from the start of this week and was beginning to enter the Caribbean,” AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski said. “It is possible, but not a certainty, that this dust will make the trip as far as the Gulf and south-central U.S. late this week or this weekend. Some of the dust is probably going to reach Florida. The biggest impact will be to make the sky appear hazy, but it can also give extra color to sunrises and sunsets.”
A hazy sunset is one of the more notable characteristics that the Saharan dust can bring, similar to wildfire smoke that drifts eastward across the U.S., resulting in hazy skies.
There is a “pretty good” area of dust now crossing the main development region of the tropical Atlantic, and this will bring hazy skies to the eastern Caribbean during the next couple of days, according to AccuWeather Hurricane Expert Dan Kottlowski. “The dust seems to dissipate with time and probably won’t be much of an issue as it moves farther west,” he said.
https://news.yahoo.com/saharan-dust-cloud-over-atlantic-225049954.html
