An enormous cloud of dust from the Sahara is floating westward over the Atlantic Ocean, heading straight for Florida.
The densest part of the African dust plume has already reached the Caribbean and could blow into the Sunshine State by midweek, according to the National Weather Service office in Miami. When the dust rolls in, it will likely lead to drier local weather, diminished air quality, and exceptionally vivid sunrises and sunsets, meteorologists say.
Around 1 p.m. on Monday, the NWS office in San Juan, Puerto Rico said that peak concentrations of Sahara dust were rolling into the area and were expected to arrive within the afternoon. The agency has issued multiple air quality alerts, as inhaling dust can irritate respiratory systems and worsen allergies, asthma, and other respiratory conditions.
These particles can also trap heat near the ground, and as such, NWS San Juan has issued a heat advisory that will remain in effect through Tuesday. Southeasterly winds combined with the effects of the dust cloud are expected to keep temperatures above normal in many coastal and urban areas, the agency stated.
At the end of last week, a thin veil of dust was already dispersing over Florida, NWS Miami meteorologist Ana Torres-Vazquez told Scientific American. By midweek, a thicker, denser plume will billow into the state, though meteorologists expect it will be patchier than the current conditions in the Caribbean. Some patches of dust could reach the rest of the Gulf Coast by late this week, according to The Weather Channel.
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