STATEWIDE — A massive weather phenomenon crossing the Atlantic Ocean will soon blanket the Sunshine State.
What You Need To Know
- Saharan air layer is bigger than usual this year
- Cloud of dust can be seen by space station astronauts
- There's concern that poor air quality can pose risk for some
- RELATED: African Dust: Coming to an Air Mass Near You
A thick, large cloud of Saharan dust cloud, made up of countless particles a fraction of the size of a human hair, has its sights on the southeastern U.S.
It's also known as the Saharan air layer, or SAL, and it happens every year, though this year, it's a bigger wave than usual.
"You get a lot of (evaporative) cooling from these summer thunderstorms out over the desert, and they kick up a lot of dust," says Dr. Steven Lazarus of Florida Tech's Ocean Engineering and Marine Sciences department.
The dust cloud is so large that the new NASA astronauts who recently arrived at the International Space Station, Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken, have been able to marvel at it as it hovered over the Atlantic.
"The same currents that move these systems off of Africa, westward across the Atlantic, takes the dust with it as well," Lazarus said.
The dust was enveloping the Caribbean just Wednesday. Pictures from a Spectrum News viewer show a yellow haze over mountains in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Forecasters say the dust cloud is affecting air quality, making conditions dangerous, especially for people with respiratory issues.
"It's also an issue with COVID, because pollution has already shown links to respiratory illness," Lazarus said.
The dust is also expected to cut down on the risk of hurricanes because of the dry air accompanying it.
Our certified meteorologists are watching the track of the Saharan dust as it moves past Florida and into the Gulf of Mexico.