Haze

happens all the time, makes breathing difficult especially for those with breathing problems already. my husband sometimes has such a bad time he needs to use an inhaler to help with his breathing.. it is most likely the sahara desert dust. the other day driving home from work i had a hard time telling if it was rain or the dust. it has kind of a yellow haze.

could be "Purple Haze"

lol dixie

hope it doesn't have anything to do with some type of cleanup at hovensa.

Looks like Sahara sand to me. Got some in my contacts and it was definitely "sandy." 🙂

We get haze from one of two sources: Sahara dust, which is yellowish and odorless, and Montserrat, which can be purple-tinged and may smell like sulfur (but not always). Montserrat haze/dust requires an ESE-SE wind.

This week's haze fits the description of Sahara dust more than Montserrat dust, although the wind shifted SE over the last few days. Montserrat reported low activity last week, with sulphur dioxide emission avg 367 tons/day (192t/d min, 620t/d max).

Waves of Sahara dust normally don't start until at least May and usually coincide with the start of hurricane season in June, so this would be way early. It's quite visible too both in the air and in the very recognizable sandy dust which quickly accumulates on your car and in your home. Any experts out there? Haven't seen any evidence of it all on STT.

it is thick but not as thick as friday. certainly seems to be desert dust from the color of it

The following is from Dr. Jeff Master's blog on Weather Underground:

Libyan snowstorm triggered major Saharan dust storm
On February 6, a rare snow storm hit North Africa, bringing 2 - 3 inches of snow to Tripoli, Libya. It was the first snow in Tripoli since at least 2005, and may be the heaviest snow the Libyan capital has seen since February 6, 1956. The storm responsible for the North African snow also had strong winds that kicked up a tremendous amount of dust over Algeria during the week. This dust became suspended in a flow of air moving to the southwest, and is now over the Atlantic Ocean.

Here is a link for more info:

http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/comment.html?entrynum=2032

Fascinating - thanks for the link!

Anyone else still feeling effects of this? we all seem to be coughing and sneezing more than normal over here.

http://stormcarib.com/goes.htm
We have Dust..choke, choke!!!

it always seems to be in the air. that week was particularly tough. we can see stt etc today so it is not that bad. it might still be in your lungs

It has been beautiful on St. Croix the last few days. We can see STT, STJ and the BVIs. Day before yesterday my husband was out west and he could see PR.

http://stormcarib.com/goes.htm

We have Dust..choke, choke!!!

I'm confused. I've seen nothing in the clear skies over STT to remotely look like Sahara dust which, when it's over us, is unmistakably visible as a haze when even the sun is blurry through it.:S

the dust was a week or so ago. it is not in the air now but the residual affects could still be in the lungs of us.

I don't want to see the Sahara dust as Old Tart describes! Several times in the last couple of weeks I have woken myself up in the night because of my own wheezing. And have had more than a few days of that borderline asthma attack feeling (like there's a very tight strap around my chest or a 50 pound weight sitting on me. I've had problems with allergies and asthma as long as I can remember. My breathing problems here are much less frequent than they were when I lived in the Florida panhandle, however.

It is clear today and STX is crisp on the horizon from Crown Mountain STT.

This week's haze fits the description of Sahara dust more than Montserrat dust, although the wind shifted SE over the last few days. Montserrat reported low activity last week, with sulphur dioxide emission avg 367 tons/day (192t/d min, 620t/d max).

The Montserrat Volcano Observatory (with data regarding eruptions and wind patterns) may be accessed here: http://www.mvo.ms/

-G'evening,

Dust anyone? This interesting and informative article was sent to me by another Forum member and I want to share.
Many thanks, "My Friend"
Swan

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/Dust/

Good read Swans, thank you.

The study shows that it needs more study. haha, oh science. I love it.

Pretty small fragile planet. Amazing that insect can get blown all the way over

Thanks for posting, Swans. I re-posted on FB, since it answered many questions and posed new ones.