Saharan Air Layer Set To Affect NC This Weekend
A large plume of dust has moved off the Coast of Africa, and is working its way currently toward the United States. This event has been well documented, I just wanted to do a short update on what you should expect around North Carolina and WNC this weekend. Below you can see the current dust observations and notice how the hazy as really set in around the Caribbean Islands.
Source: http://tropic.ssec.wisc.edu/real-time/sal/g16split/movies/goes16split.html
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Sahara Dust Layer Heading Towards the US Source: http://tropic.ssec.wisc.edu/real-time/sal/g16split/movies/goes16split.html
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How Will This Affect NC?
That is a great question and this dust is by no means anything to be frightened by. Typically we will see vivid sunrises & sunsets along with a sort of smog coverage during the day. If you remember back to 2015 when we had several wild fires around WNC, these days will be similar to those where a haze sets in throughout the day. Below you can see several tweets including one that shows Jamaica at sunrise yesterday morning. The dust will not be as thick here in NC, but will have similar characteristic to what we are seeing currently across the Caribbean.
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Here are a couple of other tweets from various islands showing how the dust is blocking out sunlight.
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Air Quality Issues
Air quality values will drop over the weekend and into next week around WNC so it is advisable to limit outdoor activity. These events are somewhat difficult to forecast, so just how bad the air quality gets has yet to be determined.. but limiting time outside is advisable this weekend, especially for the young and elderly.
Benefits Of Sahara Dust
Low Tropic Activity
With dust present, convection is very limited across the entire ocean and that suppresses any low pressure from gaining momentum. In fact, it is even difficult for pop-up storms to develop when the SAL (Saharan Air Layer) is present.
Vivid Sunrises & Sunsets
Those beautiful reds and yellows will manifest themselves more frequently at sunrise and sunset as light refracts through the dust particles on its way to the surface. Typically at sunrise or sunset, water vapor in the atmosphere refracts sunlight creating those hues of color, but when the dust layer is present water vapor is not needed. So you can expect beautiful sunrises and sunsets this weekend and early next week for all of NC!
Replenishes Beaches & Fertilizes
These beneficial dusts replenish sands on beaches across the whole Northern Hemisphere. They will also settle in your garden and be beneficial for you soil! No this won’t be a natural dump of nutrients, but what dust does happen to accumulate will be washed into the soil and will be similar to adding a dolomite solution to your garden.
Summary
This has been a well documented event so expect coverage. This is nothing new though and has happened in many years of the past. If this persists through the main part of Hurricane season, it will be seen as beneficial in my opinion due to how active of a season the NHC forecasted. It will be smoky looking around WNC this weekend though during the day so please be mindful of that. You can check out the AshevilleWX live cameras to see the dust move in below!