Saharan Dust Cloud Could Reach U.S. Gulf Coast This Weekend

HOUSTON, TX — A trans-Atlantic Saharan dust cloud, the first in 2022, is heading toward the United States and could reach Gulf Coast states as early as this weekend, according to AccuWeather.

The dust was still over the Atlantic as of Tuesday, and projections show the dust cloud will sweep across the Caribbean before it could reach the shores of the U.S. Gulf Coast, according to the report.

The particles mostly hover about a mile above the Earth's surface in a layer about 2 to 2.5 miles thick, referred to as the Saharan Air Layer, according to AccuWeather.

The particles can present health risks and can agitate allergies and asthma in sensitive individuals, according to ABC13 Houston Meteorologist Travis Herzog.

"Most of us simply notice the sky turning a hazy gray, which is especially noticeable at sunrise and sunset," Herzog said in a Facebook post.

Herzog said effects from the Saharan dust cloud could be mitigated in Texas by possible rain along an approaching cold front.

The effects of the first Saharan dust cloud of 2022 are projected to be mild, especially in comparison to the Godzilla dust storm in 2020, which could be seen by astronauts at the International Space Station. Nearly 24 tons of dust were carried across the Atlantic Ocean from the Sahara Desert in 2020, according to NASA.

There's disagreement among forecasts on whether particles from the latest Saharan dust cloud will even reach the western Gulf Coast. NASA's model shows some dust in the skies in Louisiana and Texas on Sunday, while the Copernicus model projects the dust will dissipate before it reaches the United States, except in southern Florida, according to Jesse Ferrell, a senior weather editor at AccuWeather.

The biggest impact is likely to be hazy skies and extra color for sunrises and sunsets, AccuWeather senior meteorologist Alex Sosnowski said.