The Caribbean is under a humongous cloud of Saharan Dust that is making its way to the southern United States.
Diario Libre reports it makes it feel as if it is 38C or 40C when the temperature is 31C-33C.
The Saharan Dust is made of sand, dirt and other dust that is lifted into the atmosphere from the vast desert area that covers most of North Africa. The dust pushes west across the Atlantic Ocean into the Caribbean Sea.
The huge Saharan dust plume is both good and bad news. The good news is that it keeps hurricanes and bad storms away. The reason is that the dust impedes the development of the moisture that feeds tropical cyclone development. Another plus is that the dust particles filled with phosphate and nitrogen serve as natural fertilizers.
The bad news is that Saharan Dust hides the clear blue skies that make living in the Caribbean so idyllic. Likewise, the clouds of dust cause air quality issues, and major allergy sensitivity in hundreds of thousands of people. The dust particles filled with phosphate and nitrogen also stimulate seaweed growth, as if the Caribbean needed any more of it.
The good news, though, is that the Weather Office (Onamet) is forecasting that a passing weather system will bring refreshing rains on Tuesday, 4 July 2023. Onamet reports that a tropical wave will be approaching on Tuesday, 4 July 2023. This system in combination with the trough in the upper levels of the troposphere, will generate in the early morning and morning hours, moderate showers with isolated thunderstorms towards La Altagracia, La Romana, El Seibo and Hato Mayor. In the afternoon, moderate to heavy downpours with possible hail, thunderstorms and wind gusts are expected towards Monte Plata, Sánchez Ramírez, Monseñor Nouel (Bonao), María Trinidad Sánchez (Nagua), Duarte, La Vega, San Cristóbal, Great Santo Domingo, San Pedro de Macorís, San Juan de la Maguana, among others. During the night, these precipitations are expected to extend over Barahona, Azua and Peravia (Baní), especially in localities near the coasts.
Onamet reports that the hottest temperature registered so far this year was 38.6C in Montecristi on 17 June 2023. Onamet says that the temperatures will get hotter as summer is just starting. The weather will not chill off until November.
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Diario Libre
Onamet
Diario Libre
4 July 2023