Vacation plans soon? Desert dust from Africa brings good news!

Do you have a beach or tropical vacation planned at the end of July? You can breathe a sigh of relief!

The Atlantic is taking a brief break from tropical development as plumes of Saharan dust from deserts in Africa are carried over the Atlantic Ocean this week by strong upper level winds. Saharan dust is forecast to stick around in the main development region in the Atlantic through the end of July.

This dusty and dry air prevents tropical systems from developing by limiting their moisture potential.

This is a common phenomenon to see dust moving over the Atlantic from Africa in the early part of hurricane season. In fact, last year the dust made it all the way to NC in late June and helped enhance our sunsets.

This plume of dust is less likely to impact NC directly but should make it to the Gulf and Texas by the end of the week where they could see beautiful sunsets.

Bottom line, Saharan dust is our friend! The dust is too high in the atmosphere to be harmful.

After a record-breaking start to this season, this is great news for anyone heading to the beach or Caribbean to beat the July heat.

Hurricane season typically starts to pick back up in August so stay tuned for updates and enjoy the tropical respite while you can!