Saharan dust cloud the size of the continental US is impacting summer weather and you may not have even noticed

descriptions off, selected

captions settings, opens captions settings dialog

Subtitles (en), selected

This is a modal window.

Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window.

End of dialog window.

How quiet could the tropics be in August? | Tracking the Tropics

How quiet could the tropics be in August? | Tracking the Tropics

(NEXSTAR) – The days are hot. The storms are few and far between. The sunsets are beautiful. And high in the sky is a layer of dust that has traveled thousands of miles from Africa impacting the weather we’re seeing in the southern U.S. and beyond.

The Saharan Air Layer, often referred to as Saharan dust, is a 2.5-mile thick “layer cake” that starts about a mile up in the atmosphere, explained Jason Dunion, a University of Miami meteorologist who works closely with NOAA’s Hurricane Research Division.

“They roll off of Africa in the summertime every three to five days, and........

© The Hill