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  • 5 hours ago
AccuWeather's Bernie Rayno explains why dry, dusty air blown from the Sahara Desert can limit tropical development in the Atlantic Ocean during the summer months of hurricane season.
Transcript
00:00Saharan dust, the dry, dusty air that prevents tropical development.
00:05Now, the name comes from the origin of the dust, the Saharan desert across northern Africa.
00:11That dust is directed to the west from high pressure that is located east of Bermuda.
00:19In fact, when you look at a water vapor loop in the Atlantic during the early part of the season,
00:24you see the yellow show you the widespread dry air.
00:28It prevents development as tropical waves come off Africa.
00:32You have a small area of showers and thunderstorms.
00:35That's the engine of tropical development.
00:38But that dry, dusty air limits thunderstorm development and weakens the tropical waves.
00:44And even if you would get a hurricane or a tropical storm,
00:48any dusty, dry air that gets involved or entrained in the hurricanes will also weaken it.
00:56Now, the Saharan dust is so widespread in the early part of the season,
01:01you'll notice when you look at the timing of the hurricane season,
01:04you have to wait until the dust dissipates.
01:07And that's usually not until the middle of August.
01:09Be quite interested.
01:10Thank you, Lord.
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