Hazy Holiday Now Expected As Texas Welcomes More Saharan Dust

Harker Heights, Texas has one of the most recognizable water towers in the entire Central Texas area, and a great way to calculate the visibility on any given day is how clearly you can spot that tower. Every year the westward trade winds help dust from the Saharan Desert travel into the gulf, and then blanket much of Texas in some very welcome ways.

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Not all of the gifts that arrive with the Saharan dust are as beneficial as enriching our soil with needed nutrients, or helping add a second layer of Ozone type coverage to thwart some of the ultraviolet sunshine to keep our temperatures just a little lower than where they could be.

When can we expect the Saharan dust to influence Texas weather?

The dust comes in heavy today, eases up for tomorrow, and then should have a significant presence through the holiday. According to this KVUE article, If you have respiratory issues, the next few days through the 4th of July holiday weekend can be a little more taxing to your system, but as long as the sand does not get into your eyes, you should be able to enjoy some pretty vibrant sunrises and sunsets in that big Lone Star State sky.

Besides vivid sunsets and sunrises, what other benefits does Saharan dust bring?

Another benefit that is not often shared is the role Saharan dust can play in actually positively effecting the weather because the extra dust works as cloud seeding, and can often provide substantial rain chances, which we all know can be too far and in between during the summer.

Saharan dust is also known to combat the ability for hurricanes to form.

Coincidentally to bringing more rain to a region, the dust can also form a barricade that makes the development of hurricanes less likely. So, it can cause storms while also preventing much larger ones.