If you’ve been on island within the last few days or so, you may have noticed a haze throughout the territory. Yup, you guessed it – the Saharan Dust has arrived.
For those of you not familiar with Saharan Dust, it happens nearly every spring/summer. It starts over in the North African desert when an increase of warm air causes sand particles to rise above the desert. Those particles are then transported over the Atlantic Ocean and across the Caribbean.
When the dust arrives in the territory, the islands’ typical bright blue skies are replaced by a haze. It looks like clouds, but in actuality, it’s dust. Visibility is reduced, and the air quality becomes poor. According to the National Weather Service, it looks like the dust is going to get a bit worse in the next week before getting better.
Here are a few pics we took the other day that show a dusty haze in the sky:
Want to know the status of the Saharan Dust? Click here to view current satellite conditions.