ORLANDO, Fla. – Saharan dust in and of itself isn’t a rare phenomenon. Several times during the summer rounds of dust from the Sahara Desert makes a trans-Atlantic journey to the U.S.
What makes this round of dust en route to Florida uncommon is the date.
Saharan dust next week
Typically by mid-September the dust has backed off significantly from its early summertime peak.
Florida impact
The dust, set to arrive in Florida early next week, will help to lower rain chances in Central Florida considerably.
Rain chances drop next week in Florida due to dry air from Saharan Air Layer.
With the lower rain chances, temperatures are also expected to head back up, possibly to mid 90s.
While most of the dust is suspended 5,000 to 20,000 feet above the ground, air quality may briefly be reduced.
A quiet peak
El Niño has gotten all of the credit for the so-far quiet Atlantic hurricane season. While no doubt the main factor it isn’t the only reason for the historically quiet start.
The prolific Saharan Air Layer as it’s known has caused robust tropical waves moving off Africa to quickly fizzle in its dry, stable environment.
Any tropical wave or short-lived named storm that fended off the dust and approached the Caribbean was then finished off the by the El Niño induced wind shear.
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