### Saharan Dust Cloud Blankets Caribbean, Heads Toward U.S.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - On Monday, a colossal Saharan dust cloud enveloped a large part of the Caribbean in what is the most significant incident of this type so far this year, with its trajectory directed towards the United States.

Spanning approximately 2,000 miles from Jamaica to well beyond Barbados in the eastern Caribbean, and stretching roughly 750 miles from the Turks and Caicos Islands in the north down to Trinidad and Tobago, the massive dust plume posed health concerns for residents. Local forecasters have urged individuals with allergies, asthma, and other respiratory conditions to stay indoors or wear masks when outside, as hazy conditions triggered sneezing, coughing, and watery eyes across the region.

"This is very impressive," remarked Alex DaSilva, AccuWeather's lead hurricane expert. The dust concentration, measured at .55 aerosol optical depth, marked the highest level observed this year, according to Yidiana Zayas from the National Weather Service in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Aerosol optical depth quantifies the extent to which particles block direct sunlight from reaching the Earth's surface, as explained by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

DaSilva indicated that the dust plume is anticipated to impact Florida, Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi later in the week and into the weekend. However, he noted that these plumes tend to lose most of their intensity by the time they pass through the eastern Caribbean. "Those islands tend to see more of an impact, more of a concentration where it can actually block out the sun a little bit at times," he said.

The Saharan Air Layer, a phenomenon of dry and dusty air that develops over the Sahara Desert, typically travels westward across the Atlantic Ocean from April through October, as per NOAA's data. This layer also suppresses the formation of tropical waves during the Atlantic hurricane season, which spans from June 1 to November 30. It is during June and July that the highest concentrations of such dust are usually recorded, with plumes traveling between 5,000 to 20,000 feet above the ground, added DaSilva.

Notably, a record-breaking Saharan dust event in June 2020 enveloped the Caribbean, with such an extraordinary size and concentration of the plume that forecasters dubbed it the "Godzilla dust cloud." That event was unparalleled in the past fifty years.