It’s not a dust storm, and it’s not smoke from Canadian wildfires either.This weekend, Florida is expected to receive dust from the Saharan Air Layer, which will bring hot and dry weather to the Tampa Bay region.
People from Florida might recall similar dust clouds that came in during previous summers.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, dust plumes from the Sahara Desert, where dust clouds can alter weather patterns far away, drift over the Atlantic Ocean to create the layer of dry air. It can develop in the early summer, late spring, and early fall.
Between the Bahamas and Puerto Rico, the air layer is currently hanging around a mile above sea level. The weather event’s peak conditions will be felt in Tampa Bay on Sunday, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Rodney Wynn.
This week had the highest global average temperatures in decades, and according to Wynn, the air layer may continue this trend throughout the weekend.
It’s going to be warm and a little bit drier,” he said. Most likely 3 to 4 degrees higher than average.
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Warning: Dust Layer Can Aggravate Respiratory Conditions, Says Meteorologist
The size of the dust clouds shouldn’t impair visibility, according to Wynn.
You won’t suddenly discover dust on your automobile when you wake up, he explained.
A Florida Public Radio Emergency Network meteorologist named Megan Borowski warned that the dust layer can aggravate people who already have respiratory conditions.
You shouldn’t breathe those particles in, she advised.
Due to the warm Atlantic Ocean, scientists this week revised their early hurricane projections to anticipate an above-average season.
However, as tropical storms form in humid environments, the arriving dry air can postpone them.
According to Borowski, the air layer’s thickness also influences thunderstorms.
The tropics would be lessened because thicker air contains more dust and dry air.
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source:tampabay.com