Amazing how large an area it covers! This satellite photo provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA, shows a could of dust coming from the Sahara desert arriving to the Caribbean Monday, June 22, 2020.

However, this early in the hurricane season is typically quiet in the tropical Atlantic, but an outbreak of dust, combined with adverse upper-level winds, could restrict any significant tropical development in the short-term future.

Below is a selection of images posted online so far.

It can occupy a roughly two-mile thick layer in the atmosphere, the agency said.

Records at this station go back 15 years. Click here to sign in with

Your feedback will go directly to Science X editors. The Saharan dust travels as far west as the Caribbean Sea, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico each year – a nearly 8,100-kilometre trek. The dust is also known to illuminate sunrises and sunsets with a redish tint. We flew over this Saharan dust plume today in the west central Atlantic. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

part may be reproduced without the written permission.

A Gray Media Group, Inc. Station - © 2002-2020 Gray Television, Inc.© 2002-2020 Gray Television, Inc. Massive Sahara dust plume headed for southeastern US, could bring sensational sunsets, Lidar study suggests carbon storage losses greater than thought in Amazon due to losses at edge of forests, A new way to automate sequences of chemical reactions, D-Wave announces launch of new Advantage quantum computer for business use, Study shows how sun compass works in the brain of desert locust, Achieving invisibility: Cross-wavelength invisibility integrated with invisibility tactics, Southern California 4.6 quake at 06:39UTC about 20 miles from here, Carnian Pluvial Episode newly identified mass extinction event, Planetary collision that formed the Moon made life possible on Earth, Science X Daily and the Weekly Email Newsletter are free features that allow you to receive your favorite sci-tech news updates in your email inbox. The content is provided for information purposes only. The plume is expected to reach the Gulf of Mexico and southeastern United States by Wednesday, according to the latest forecast models. Lázaro, who is working with NASA to develop an alert system for the arrival of Sahara dust, said the concentration was so high in recent days that it could even have adverse effects on healthy people. If the forecast model is right, it will move over most of the Southeast and MidAtlantic states over the weekend. Your email address is used only to let the recipient know who sent the email.

Updated 2017 GMT (0417 HKT) June 24, 2020. José Alamo, a meteorologist with the U.S. National Weather Service in San Juan, Puerto Rico, said the worst days for the U.S. territory would be Monday and Tuesday as the plume travels toward the U.S. southeast coast. Get weekly and/or daily updates delivered to your inbox. Several of these thunderstorms caused downdrafts and large-scale. Medical Xpress covers all medical research advances and health news, Tech Xplore covers the latest engineering, electronics and technology advances, Science X Network offers the most comprehensive sci-tech news coverage on the web. Your opinions are important to us.

© 2020 The Associated Press.

We use cookies on this site to improve your experience as explained in our Cookie Policy. The information you enter will appear in your e-mail message and is not retained by Phys.org in any form. "It's certainly the most intense, large-scale dust event I have ever seen," Ryder said. "This is the most significant event in the past 50 years," said Pablo Méndez Lázaro, an environmental health specialist with the University of Puerto Rico. Health experts in the Caribbean are warning residents to stay indoors to avoid potentially dangerous impacts from a Saharan plume that some are calling a "Godzilla dust cloud," due to its potency and size.

Since one of the key ingredients for tropical cyclone development is a deep feed of moisture, Saharan Dust often acts to inhibit tropical development. According to the HRD, the Saharan Air Layer is usually situated at heights of 5,000 to 20,000 feet above the Earth's surface and is pushed westward by strong wind gusts and tropical waves in the central and western Atlantic Ocean, at altitudes ranging between 6,500 and 14,500 feet.

Astronauts have also gotten a good view of it from the international space station. The dust can reach the U.S. multiple times, as we saw last week and now this week.

The initial dust outbreak was driven by a few different smaller storm systems over central and west Africa. We do not guarantee individual replies due to extremely high volume of correspondence. One of the first things you'll notice when the Saharan dust layer arrives is that your typical blue sky will have more of a milky haze to it. The dust layer is so thick you can see it on weather satellites. pic.twitter.com/JVGyo8LAXI. You can reject cookies by changing your browser settings. Once it arrives, here are the top 3 ways you'll notice next week's Saharan dust in the US, wrote CNN meteorologist Tyler Mauldin. At a Glance. “Conditions are dangerous in many Caribbean islands.”. The main international airport in San Juan was reporting only 5 miles (8 kilometers) of visibility. At the same time, these smaller dust storms were happening.

This year's dry plume, which hit the Caribbean on the weekend, has dropped air quality across most of the region to dangerous record evels, with experts advising people to stay indoors and use air filters if they have them. Many health specialists were concerned about those battling respiratory symptoms tied to COVID-19. It was able to then be transported westwards in a very dense plume when the jet picked up speed again. Some people posted pictures of themselves on social media wearing double masks to ward off the coronarivus and the dust, while others joked that the Caribbean looked like it had received a yellow filter movie treatment. The dust, known as the Saharan Air Layer (SAL), normally forms and occurs from late spring through early fall and then moves into the tropical Atlantic Ocean every three to five days, according to NOAA's Hurricane Research Division (HRD). Many of her colleagues across the Caribbean said they have not seen air quality conditions this bad in their entire careers.

As long as the Saharan dust is around ... it's likely you'll see the National Hurricane Center watching fewer areas in the tropics. The mass of extremely dry and dusty air known as the Saharan Air Layer forms over the Sahara Desert and moves across the North Atlantic every three to five days from late spring to early fall, peaking in late June to mid-August, according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

If you find yourself reaching for a tissue this week -- or your iPhone to post yet another awesome sunset pic to Instagram -- thank the Saharan dust. This increase in dust thickness has led to the dirty looking skies seen across the Caribbean and the historically poor air quality.

NOAA's Hurricane Research Division (HRD). Aerosols, measured in PM10, at Mayol-Bracero's research station in northeastern Puerto Rico, have never reached the levels they have seen the past few days. All rights reserved.

The dust blanketed the Caribbean before it headed north toward the continental United States.

"Conditions are dangerous in many Caribbean islands.". This dust forecast shows the predicted conditions on Thursday. This thicker layer is likely to reach Texas by Friday and then take a turn to the east. By using our site, you acknowledge that you have read and understand our Privacy Policy

NASA-NOAA’s Suomi NPP satellite observed a huge Saharan dust plume streaming over the North Atlantic Ocean, beginning on June 13. Because of its occurrence during hurricane season, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has outlined several potential impacts of SAL to tropical development. Areas of the Caribbean known for their pristine water and blue skies turned a brownish-gray in Puerto Rico on Monday. Extremely hazy conditions and limited visibility were reported from Antigua down to Trinidad & Tobago, with the event expected to last until late Tuesday. Saharan dust tracks as far west as the Caribbean Sea, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico each year. Sources: Weather Underground | CNN | National Library of Medicine | Fox 29, © 2020 The Weather Network Pelmorex Weather Networks. The Saharan dust to a hurricane is nothing more than extremely dry air.

Thursday morning, people in places like Brownsville in Texas and Houston will likely wake up to a beautiful sunrise and a hazier than normal sky.

Neither your address nor the recipient's address will be used for any other purpose. Mounting evidence, including a study published in the National Library of Medicine,has indicated that mineral dust found in particulate matter may contribute to serious health impacts including an increase in deaths. Address of direct link for this product : http://tropic.ssec.wisc.edu/real-time/sal/g16split/g16split.jpg http://tropic.ssec.wisc.edu/real-time/sal/g16split/g16split.jpg As the dust cloud filled the skies, it didn’t take long for visuals of the occurrence to blanket social media. Forecast models show the thicker concentration blanketing most of Central America and Mexico Thursday.

"It is definitely historic," Olga Mayol-Bracero, a researcher at the University of Puerto Rico told. But before it does, it is leaving these pristine islands with a few more days with one the most significant dust events seen in the Caribbean. or. Darker browns are an indication of where the thickest dust layer will be found.

An expansive plume of dust from the Sahara Desert has moved from Africa to the southern United States. “This is the most significant event in the past 50 years,” said Lázaro. This site uses cookies to assist with navigation, analyse your use of our services, and provide content from third parties. Meaning a larger amount of dust than usual was able to accumulate just off the west coast of Africa. "Usually by the time dust from the Sahara has traveled this far, much of it has been dispersed and/or deposited to the ocean so that typically this long-range transport to the Americas would involve much lower concentrations," Ryder said. People watch the strange-colored sunset, tinged by the cloud of Saharan dust hanging in the air, in Havana on June 24, 2020. Satellite data showed the dust had spread over 2,000 miles. Monday, June 22nd 2020, 3:00 pm - The Sahara dust reached the Caribbean on the weekend, blanketing the skies with a smoky plume that has led to harmful air quality levels.