ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Dust from the Sahara Desert in Africa continued its trek across the Atlantic Ocean this weekend, and it just reached Puerto Rico.
It's quite easy to see where it is -- from ground level or even way up into space onboard the International Space Station. NASA astronaut Doug Hurley, who took a trip on a SpaceX rocket earlier this month, tweeted a view of the Saharan dust plume Sunday.
"We flew over this Saharan dust plume today in the west central Atlantic," he said. "Amazing how large an area it covers!"
Back on dry land, Jeffrey Holsman tweeted what's just about a night-and-day view from San Juan, Puerto Rico. Clouds appear to dot the sky in one picture but as the dust moved in, it's a whole different view.
10 Weather meteorologist Ric Kearbey noted these sorts of dust storms aren't at all uncommon. In fact, when they kick up, strong easterly winds across the Caribbean can send the dust across the islands and even as far as the U.S.
The dust, known as the Saharan Air Layer, helps to inhibit the development of tropical cyclones as it's about 50 percent drier than the typical tropical air mass. It, too, tends to be associated with strong wind shear -- something that can rip up cyclones.
But the dust also can help to set off some great-looking sunsets. With all of the tiny particles hanging in the air, the light refracts more at sunset and will provide a deep red or orange color to the sky, Kearbey said.
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