COLUMBUS, Ga (WRBL)- Over the past few months, our 2024 hurricane season has been relatively quite. One reason for that is the Saharan Dust Layer.
What is Saharan Dust? The Saharan Dust Layer is made up of very dry, warm air that helps to inhibit tropical cyclone development. This layer is caused by strong westward winds moving across the Saharan Desert and pushing this dust layer across the Atlantic.
In order to have a hurricane there are a few key ingredients we need:
- Ocean Temperatures above 80 degrees F
- Moisture in the atmosphere
- Lack of wind shear (all the winds need to be going in the same direction throughout the layers of the atmosphere)
How is it affecting the 2024 Hurricane Season? When we had Saharan Dust into the mix, this causes less sunshine to make it down to the ocean, causing ocean temperatures to drop below 80 degrees. The dry air in the dust also gets rid of any moisture a tropical cyclone may need.
Tropical development is expected to ramp up over the next month. This is due to westward winds starting to weaken over the Atlantic, meaning that there will be less Saharan Dust to kill tropical development.
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