What the hell!
A massive plume of dust from Africa's Sahara Desert is spreading into parts of the U.S. after traveling 5,000 miles across the Atlantic, Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico.
Known as the Saharan Air Layer (SAL), this dry dust plume commonly forms from late spring through early fall and moves into the tropical Atlantic Ocean every three to five days, according to
NOAA's Hurricane Research Division (HRD).
The HRD says the Saharan Air Layer is typically located between 5,000 and 20,000 feet above the Earth's surface. It is transported westward by bursts of strong winds and tropical waves located in the central and western Atlantic Ocean at altitudes between 6,500 and 14,500 feet.
The densest plume of dust began to emerge off western Africa
last weekend and has now moved into the South. You can see the general area where the dust is located right now in the analysis below from NASA's GEOS-5 model.
Air quality has been unhealthy, even for healthy folks, in parts of Texas, Florida, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia, as of Saturday afternoon.
Air quality alerts have been issued in portions of the South and Ohio Valley where air could be dangerous for some people.
Saharan Dust and Alerts
(Air quality alerts are issued in locations that are seeing or could see dangerous air quality for sensitive groups. )
Saharan dust tracks as far west as the Caribbean Sea, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico each year.
This particular dust event is unique because of its thickness over parts of the Caribbean Sea earlier this week. It had the highest concentrations of dust particles observed over Puerto Rico in at least the last 15 years, according to Dr. Olga Mayol of the Institute for Tropical Ecosystem Studies at the University of Puerto Rico.
Dust will continue to spread into parts of the U.S. through the weekend, where it might at least contribute to hazy skies. There could also be brilliant sunrises and sunsets.
The latest forecast below from NASA's GEOS-5 model shows the dust affecting parts of the South from now through Monday. Some of the dust could also spread as far north and west as portions of the Plains and Midwest.
Another plume of dust will also track across the Caribbean this weekend. Some of that dust might reach the U.S. Gulf Coast next week.