A huge gust of dust is heading in South Florida’s direction, and with it comes some good news and bad news.
Saharan dust is something South Florida deals with every year as the influx of dust makes its way from Africa to, at least, close to the region.
University of Miami professor and researcher Cassandra Gaston said it is a normal occurance.
“It is a normal situation. The dust gets transported to the Caribbean and to the Gulf, as well as to southern Florida, pretty regularly in the summertime,” she said.
Gaston, who studies atmospheric and earth sciences at the university, said the dust can make the air unhealthy.
“We saw that in 2020, during the so-called Godzilla Dust event. We measured some pretty bad levels of particulate matter,” she said.
A photo shared with 7News depicts how much dust was collected from a single filter over a two-day stretch in 2021, when a plume of dust made its way over Barbados.
A big dust like that one could mean a tough time for people with breathing or pulmonary issues.
But for now, current models show the Saharan dust on its way to our area staying underneath Florida, according to 7News’ chief meteorologist Phil Ferro.
“You’ll see that the big plume of Saharan dust will start to make its way to the west across the Caribbean Sea, parts of the Bahamas, but then it just goes right underneath Florida and into the Gulf of Mexico,” said Ferro. “So, if this forecast holds, we may just see a little bit of hazy skies in the morning and in the evening, while the brunt of it goes out into the Gulf waters and eventually into Texas and Mexico.”
For South Florida, the best chances of experiencing the dust would be next Wednesday and Thursday.
“We just keep our eyes on it, because it could have an adverse effect on folks with respiratory issues, but the benefit outside of that is it can keep hurricane formation in check,” said Ferro.
Due to the dust limiting hurricane formation, South Florida could expect a quiet time in the tropics for at least the next week.