A massive plume of dust from the Sahara Desert located on the African continent, has surged into the Caribbean Sea, in particular, St. Kitts & Nevis, and it is expected to reach the Gulf of Mexico and parts of the United States, according to weather.com.

This dry dust plume commonly forms from late spring through early fall and moves into the tropical Atlantic Ocean every three to five days, according to NOAA’s Hurricane Research Division (HRD).

The densest plume began to emerge off western Africa last weekend and has now traveled over 3,000 miles across the Atlantic Ocean to the Eastern Caribbean Sea.

The VONNEWSLINE spoke with Senior Meteorologist at the St. Kitts Met Office, Mr. Elmo Burke, who provided this update.

Senior Meteorologist at the St. Kitts Met Office, Mr. Elmo Burke.

In light of the present 2020 Atlantic Hurricane Season, according to accuweather.com, the dense plume of Saharan dust will limit tropical development much of the coming week from the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean, across the main development region of the Atlantic.