Going To Be Some Awesome Sunsets This Week Due To Dust From Sahara Desert

I guess there is a pretty big sand storm in Africa right now and it's bringing a ton of sand our way.

Saw this story on WFLA.com and wanted to share.

I love watching sunsets, I'm lucky to live on a canal and I have a great view of the sunsets every night so I will be out there this week looking.

Dust from the Sahara Desert in Africa is traveling 5,000 miles from the Atlantic Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico.

I guess these Saharan dust plumes are generated from strong winds over the Sahara. These winds and updrafts kick up the dry top layer of soil and raise it high into the atmosphere.  Easterly trade winds can then carry the dust into the Atlantic.  When the dust plume is large enough and the easterly winds are strong enough, the plume travels all the way to the Caribbean and even the United States.

This isn’t a typical dust storm. When the dust arrives, it is suspended high up in the atmosphere, between 5,000 feet and 20,000 feet or about one to four miles, but they say people with respiratory problems may notice this week.

Hazy skies will lead to colorful sunrises and sunsets as the light bends around and through the particulate.

https://www.wfla.com/news/local-news/saharan-dust-from-africa-expected-to-bring-hazy-skies-colorful-sunsets-to-gulf-this-week/