MIAMI – More Saharan dust is on the way to the Sunshine State.
The first plume arrived in Florida on Sunday. The overall concentration was low, and the dust was well above the surface, unlike the recent Canadian wildfire smoke, the FOX Forecast Center said. The impact to air quality was minimal. But the dust can help create vivid sunrises and sunsets.
5 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE SAHARAN DUST PLUME
A second plume of dust is expected to arrive on Thursday. This plume may be thick enough and close enough to the ground to briefly impact air quality, especially for sensitive groups, but widespread impacts are not expected.
The main impact will once again be dramatic sunrises and sunsets, particularly in Florida, the FOX Forecast Center said.
This is common during the summer, as intense dust is pushed off the African coast and is transported more than 5,000 miles across the Atlantic Ocean.
More than 180 million tons of dust leave the African continent annually, and it’s all highly dependent on how much rain falls across northern Africa, according to the FOX Forecast Center.
This dust will help keep the tropics in check, as this dry, dusty air will limit any significant tropical development in the short term. However, well to the north of this Saharan dust plume, Invest 94L is being monitored for development into a tropical or subtropical depression or storm over the central Atlantic Ocean.