Massive Saharan Dust Cloud to impact the United States next week

Ahh yes, 2020... The year of apocalyptic headlines! Although, there is some good news that may come out of this weather phenomenon.

A look at satellite today shows a large cloud of dust streaming off the west coast of Africa from the Sahara Desert.

It can be a little hard to pick out the dust on grayscale, but if you adjust for true colors, it's easy to see just how widespread this wall of dust actually is!

Our dust tracker is able to see where that dust is going to go over the next week. Below you can see where the dust progresses across the Atlantic Ocean between now and this time next week.

The effect on the hurricane season

Dust clouds like this can shroud out sunlight and prevent warming of sea surface temperatures. Warm sea waters are a critical component in the development of tropical systems and this will likely temper the hot start we've had to the Atlantic hurricane season.

Dust clouds like this can also provide for some incredible sunrises and sunsets... that's something we'll be looking for across the Gulf Coast of the United States throughout next week.

Hi-Resolution Dust Cloud Photo