Saharan Dust Influences South Florida Weather and Storms

This week in South Florida, weather reports have focused on the Saharan air layer, a dust cloud that travels from Africa to the U.S. along the same path as hurricanes. This dust hinders tropical storm development, leading to heat advisories with “feels-like” temperatures soaring into triple digits. The dust also prevents storm formation by capping rising warm air, although any storm that does break through can be quite intense.
An example occurred Wednesday near Redland, where a powerful storm struck around 3 p.m. Though initially reported as a tornado, it was confirmed by the NBC6 First Alert Weather Team and the National Weather Service to be a downburst—a strong, downward air column causing straight-line winds estimated at 50-55 mph. These winds were strong enough to cause damage similar to a weak tornado, including knocking down wooden powerlines.