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What the Saharan dust will mean for the sunsets and sunrises in Cleveland

Saharan Dust.
Posted at 11:06 AM, Jun 24, 2020
and last updated 2020-06-24 16:30:32-04

CLEVELAND — Here comes the dust! Saharan dust that is, which happens every year, but what makes this year so special is the size.

This year's dust cloud is very large. It's already sparking Air Quality Alerts for the Caribbean with the Gulf Coast next in line. The impacts are lower and lower the farther west from Africa the dust cloud stretches, meaning the worst is already over, but it's still worth watching.

The mass of extremely dry and dusty air known as the Saharan Air Layer forms over the Sahara Desert and moves across the North Atlantic every three to five days from late spring to early fall, peaking in late June to mid-August, according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

When and if the dust cloud reaches Ohio, don't look for a brown sky, a dust smell or dirty rain drops. You should look for a slight reddish hue to the sunrise and sunset each day it's around. Start paying more attention to the sky early next week.

Feel free to share your sunrise and sunset photos with the Power of 5 Storm Team. We'd love to share these during our newscasts. Share them by tagging us on Twitter @WEWS or our Facebook page here.