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By Chris Dolce and Jonathan Erdman
A massive plume of dust from Africa's Sahara Desert is spreading into parts of the U.S. after traveling 5,000 miles across the Atlantic, Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico.
Known as the Saharan Air Layer (SAL), this dry dust plume commonly forms from late spring through early fall and moves into the tropical Atlantic Ocean every three to five days, according to NOAA's Hurricane Research Division (HRD).
The HRD says the Saharan Air Layer is typically located between 5,000 and 20,000 feet above the Earth's surface. It is transported westward by bursts of strong winds and tropical waves located in the central and western Atlantic Ocean at altitudes between 6,500 and 14,500 feet.
... Air quality has been unhealthy, even for healthy folks, in parts of Texas, Florida, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia, as of Saturday afternoon.
Air quality alerts have been issued in portions of the South and Ohio Valley where air could be dangerous for some people.
A massive plume of dust from Africa's Sahara Desert is spreading into parts of the U.S. after traveling 5,000 miles across the Atlantic, Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico.
Known as the Saharan Air Layer (SAL), this dry dust plume commonly forms from late spring through early fall and moves into the tropical Atlantic Ocean every three to five days, according to NOAA's Hurricane Research Division (HRD).
The HRD says the Saharan Air Layer is typically located between 5,000 and 20,000 feet above the Earth's surface. It is transported westward by bursts of strong winds and tropical waves located in the central and western Atlantic Ocean at altitudes between 6,500 and 14,500 feet.
... Air quality has been unhealthy, even for healthy folks, in parts of Texas, Florida, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia, as of Saturday afternoon.
Air quality alerts have been issued in portions of the South and Ohio Valley where air could be dangerous for some people.