Relatively new but gotta ask......

the sarhara desert dust could be around for weeks or months. it can make it hard to breath especially for those with asthma. it comes and goes throughout the year. sometimes if monsarat blows, that adds to the poor air quality. i hate to say it, but get used to it.

the rainy season is usually in the "winter" months. but i will say, for me-this has been the driest year i can remember ever. i have been here 10 years, hubby was here for almost 1 1/2 years before me and he said it was dryer than it is now.

we have a few rains but not near enough. i have never seen it as brown as i see it now.

Don't worry, we usually get a good drenching in May. Hopefully not till after Sunday!

The haze this morning was a surprise. Haven't seen it this bad in a very long time. If you do a search of the forums for Sahara dust there was one thread that had a link to some kind of tracking site.

It lasts throughout the summer months, generally.
The only positive is that it helps prevent hurricanes.
Here's an old Daily News article from last year:

http://m.virginislandsdailynews.com/news/weather-service-huge-wave-of-saharan-dust-headed-for-territory-1.1702010

Here's a Source article on the Sahara dust that's presently affecting us.
http://stthomassource.com/content/news/local-news/2015/04/29/sahara-dust-clear-friday

Thanks Alana and all! Today, because of the fire on the south side, the air quality was even worse. I did my errands early and hid the rest of the day in the bedroom under the air conditioner. Home schooling in a cool dark comfy king size bed wasn't too bad today. Lol!

You're welcome.
I even resorted to the A/C in the bedroom when I got home today.
It was so darned hot! Haven't had to use it since last October. Seems like it got hotter, earlier, this year as managed not to turn A/C on until end of May, last year. Pretty dry too. We can use some rain.
I'll enjoy the AC until I get my next WAPA bill!

i dont usually get this hot until july

"....The Amazon rainforest and the Sahara desert seem utterly different. Yet NASA satellites have discovered a surprising connection that intimately links these two disparate parts of our planet...."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7lVGhTPQAY&feature=share

Thanks swans.
Everything's connected.
We tend to be myopic.

Still more to come…
picture of dust crossing the Atlantic

Was over in STX last weekend for some diving. Heard there was a frogfish hanging around, and I had to see that lol...

I've never seen STX that dry. We usually go this time past three years - even before we lived to STT. It was so terribly hot I couldt even enjoy a beer and lunch last Sunday. I mean it felt like AZ summer WITH humidity. The east end looked like it was set on fire. Everything looks dead! So depressing! Plus it really feels like a ghost town. I know it's slower and maybe I've just really become accustomed to STT hustle but it seemed slower than usual. Sad to see that cool bohemian shop closed up but that little coffee place is awesome! Best coffee I've had... maybe ever actually.

STT and STJ are looking bad too but still green and somewhat cool northside. Need wind. Tue Sahara dust isn't bothering me this year so far but last year I got the worst headaches ever! And I never get headaches.

AandA, i have not seen it look like this or feel like this in the whole time i have lived here 10 years

Obviously I can't speak for STX but it's not at all unusual for STT/STJ - it only rains during STT Carnival once in a blue moon but shortly after it's over we get replenished and then the, "I've never seen so much rain EVER" refrain pops up. 😀

We had 7 inches of rain in February and 2 in March at our collecting station. Both above historical levels. April was less than 1 inch, but for year we are above "average".

We moved into a new house at the end of January and the cistern level was at 7 feet. We were gone one week in February and three weeks in March. We only use water to hand wash dishes, once a day showers and a maximum of four loads of laundry a week ( 2014 ) energy saver washer.

We measured at end of February, no water loss as it rained a bit during that month. Lost a foot in March and another foot and a half in April.

I'm making my family be very water concious. We can cut back on laundry however I refuse to give up my showers. And certainly taking a loofah and free styling is soooo off the table. Lord! Who wants to see that. So unless there is some sort of magical Cruzan rain dance I can do by moonlight, I may have to purchase my first load of water for the year. Even my pets are looking at me, like do something would ya.

And I'm not kidding about that dance......

even when we used a cistern exclusively, the only conserving i did was at night, did not flush until morning.

I'm making my family be very water concious. We can cut back on laundry however I refuse to give up my showers.

It's really not at all difficult to conserve water and it soon becomes as natural as breathing. "If it's yellow let it mellow, if it's brown flush it down" (and if you don't have low-flush water saving toilets, lower the ballcock so you don't waste water on a flush); shower faucet on to get wet, faucet off to lather up, faucet on to rinse; faucet on to wet the toothbrush, off to brush, on to rinse; if you wash dishes by hand, one soapy bowl to wash, one clear water to rinse and then save all the water for your plants. Tons of other ways to save but those are basics. Think of a running faucet as $$s going down the drain!