(WAVY) — While we’re still anticipating an active and busy hurricane season, the past week or so has been pretty quiet, and one of the main reasons why has been the deserts sands from the African continent.
Saharan dust — or the Saharan Air Layer — consists of sand and dust particles from the deserts of Africa that are lifted into the atmosphere by the easterly trade winds. This dry layer of air is usually 50% drier than the typical tropical air mass, so simply put, it dries and limits tropical development.
If this layer is thick enough, it can also suppress water and air temperatures. The Saharan Air Layer develops almost every tropical season, and usually peaks somewhere between mid-June and early August, and provides a stretch of limited tropical activity.
So while we don’t anticipate any new tropical development in the next week or so, we can use this quiet time to refresh on our hurricane kits and preparedness plans.