Air quality to be impacted as Sahara dust cloud comes to Texas

By Shannon Ryan | Published June 16, 2022 8:21AM | Austin | FOX 7 Austin

https://www.fox7austin.com/news/air-quality-sahara-dust-cloud-texas-weather

AUSTIN, Texas - A massive dust cloud from the Sahara Desert has moved into Central Texas and another is on the way.

The good news is that the dust clouds make for some amazing sunsets but the bad news is that they also cause hazy days and most importantly, bad air quality.

Another Texas-sized dust cloud that's currently covering the Caribbean is predicted to make it's way to our area.

"So what happens this time of year? You get these massive storm systems that go across Africa and these big, massive thunderstorm complexes kick up the dust and then those powerful updrafts within those storms carry that dust at least a mile up in the atmosphere," says Good Day Austin meteorologist Zack Shields.

"And then they go off the coast of Africa and then the tropical trade winds pick up that plume of dust and send it all the way toward North America," Shields adds.

So what does that mean for you?


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