Hurricane season is off to a slower start than usual. One reason is a massive plume of Saharan dust traveling thousands of miles from North Africa across the Atlantic Ocean.
Hurricanes thrive in warm, moist, unstable air. When Saharan dust moves to the Atlantic, it brings dry air and can increase wind speeds, which disrupts developing storms from strengthening.
The dust plume will stretch from Florida, across the Gulf and throughout the southeast. It is expected to arrive in South Carolina late Thursday and remain throughout the weekend. While all of the state will experience the dust, there is no expected impact to air quality.
Saharan dust also scatters sunlight differently, often leading to the beautiful sunsets many people notice across the Carolinas during the summer.
But, the dust doesn’t last all season. As it weakens later in the summer and ocean waters remain warm, hurricane activity often increases. The busiest part of the Atlantic hurricane season typically occurs from mid-August through October.
Enjoy the colorful sunsets but stay prepared. It only takes one hurricane to make it an active season, so now is the time to review your emergency plan and stay weather aware. Get live weather updates online at South Carolina ETV and Public Radio.