Dust from the Sahara desert reached the United States this week, blanketing the skies over parts of the Southern US, causing an orange glow in the sky.
On Sunday, the National Weather Service posted photos from San Antonio, Texas that showed the effect the dust was causing on the daytime sky.
You may have heard that the Saharan dust has made a return. Check out this comparison of 2 PM today vs 24 hours ago and see what you think. pic.twitter.com/VonJJPycM0
— NWS Austin/San Antonio (@NWSSanAntonio) July 15, 2018
The addition of dust from the Sahara has exacerbated concerns of poor air quality during the heat of the Texas summer. In Waco, Texas, the temperature reached a record 104 degrees.
"The continuation of Saharan dust plume arriving from the east-southeast will likely result in hazy conditions once again at sunrise Tuesday, as the brief nocturnal inversions assists in trapping low-level pollutants," the National Weather Service out of Fort Worth said.
Did you notice the hazy skies this morning? Dust from the windswept Sahara desert of Africa has made the 5,000 mile journey to the region. This morning's satellite shows the connection around the Bermuda high pressure system of the north Atlantic. #txwx #dfwx #ctxwx pic.twitter.com/53piHMyz8O
— NWS Fort Worth (@NWSFortWorth) July 16, 2018
What has caused dust to become carried from Africa to North America is a strong Bermuda high-pressure system, which has picked up the dust and carried it from east to west in the tropics.
