Overview

• Satellite imagery shows the plume stretching over 3,200 kilometres from Jamaica to beyond Barbados, blanketing most of the Caribbean.
• Lead AccuWeather meteorologist Alex DaSilva forecasts the dust will reach Florida, Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi late this week into the weekend.
• With aerosol optical depth peaking at 0.55—this year’s highest reading—health officials have issued air-quality alerts for people with asthma, allergies and other respiratory conditions.
• The Saharan Air Layer forms over the Sahara Desert from April through October and regularly transports dust across the Atlantic every three to five days.
• Meteorologists warn that the influx of dry, dusty air and associated wind shear can inhibit tropical cyclone formation during the early Atlantic hurricane season.