MIAMI – A massive plume of Saharan dust arrived in Florida Thursday after a 5,000-mile journey from Africa, turning the sky a milky gray and suppressing some rain.

5 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE SAHARAN DUST PLUME

The NOAA’s GOES-19 satellite time lapse video below shows the multi-day journey as the dust traveled thousands of miles across the Atlantic from late May to this week. 

The immediate impacts in Florida of the dust are the appearance to the sky. Cameras over Miami and South Florida showed a muted sky on Thursday morning. 

This thick plume of dust arrived during the first week of the Atlantic hurricane season, helping keep tropical development at bay – for now.

“I always think that Mother Nature has this checks and balance system and, for me, when it comes to hurricane season, the Saharan dust is the checks and balance system that we have,” said FOX Weather Meteorologist Melissa Torres. “The drier air inhibits (and) helps suppresses any activity and if you get a thick enough layer, it can also maybe keep some of the temperatures of the sea surface from warming dramatically.”

NOAA estimates that more than 180 million tons of dust leave Africa every year, and the extremely dry air reduces thunderstorm activity and tropical cyclone formation.

A break in the rain is a welcome change for South Florida, where a low pressure system now dumping on the Southeast brought more than 6 inches of rain.

However, the dust particles can also create more vibrant colors for sunrise and sunset.  As the larger dust particles scatter visible light, longer wavelengths like red, orange and pink will make for striking sunrises and sunsets.

Saharan dust to spread along Gulf Coast into Texas

The Saharan dust is forecast to linger into the weekend and move into the Southeast and parts of the Gulf Coast states through Texas. 

While the dust moving over the Florida Peninsula will help suppress the storms South Florida has experienced over the past week, any rain that does fall could interact with some dust bringing it down to the ground, known as “dirty rain.”

“You come outside, and it looks like somebody just poured dirt in the rain,” Torres said. 

Some areas across Florida will experience reduced air quality on Thursday and Friday as the dust spreads into the Southeast. On Thursday, the Air Quality Index (AQI) showed “moderate” or yellow air quality throughout Florida, just one level below “Good” or green on the AQI.

HOW TO WATCH FOX WEATHER

Those who suffer from asthma or other respiratory issues may want to limit their time outdoors. 

As those in the south experience a haze from Saharan dust, Americans to the north are under a different air quality threat from Canadian wildfire smoke.