▪ Saharan dust is an extremely dry, dusty air mass, containing about 50% less moisture than the typical tropical atmosphere, the National Hurricane Center notes. “This extremely dry air can weaken a tropical cyclone or tropical disturbance by promoting downdrafts around the storm.”

Clouds of dust blown off the Saharan Desert into the southeastern U.S. could affect local weather and make sunrises and sunsets particularly vivid

Every summer, strong winds blow massive clouds of dust off the Sahara Desert in Africa. This is called the Saharan Air Layer, or SAL. These dust clouds ride the wind across the Atlantic Ocean, sometimes traveling more than 5,000 miles all the way to Florida.