What is Saharan Dust and how does it impact hurricane season in NC?

RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — During hurricane season, the CBS 17 Storm Team tracks developing tropical systems, but sometimes they have to monitor dust as well.

Right now, a few plumes of Saharan Dust (sometimes called the Saharan Air Layer), are moving over the Atlantic.

Saharan Dust is exactly what it sounds like — dust from the Saharan Desert moving west across the ocean. But why do we care about it?

Saharan Dust creates a dry layer in the atmosphere, so if we have a developing tropical system, it can hit the dry layer which can limit further development.

This dusty layer can also create vibrant-colored sunsets, but also reduce air quality and cause problems for those that have respiratory issues if the dust moves over land.

But dust in this area right now might not be a bad thing.

July is not often a month where the tropics are super active, but we can see some development in the Gulf, the northern Caribbean with movement into the Gulf, near the Bahamas and moving up the southeast coast, and occasionally east of the Caribbean near the Lesser Antilles.

Remember we are only a month into hurricane season, and while the tropics are starting to get active, unfortunately we have a long way to go.