Massive Saharan dust cloud moving toward US. Will it have any impact on WA?

Yahoo

2 days ago

A large plume of dust from the Saharan Desert is expected to drift across a good chunk of parts of the southeastern U.S. by the end of the week, forecasters say.
According to AccuWeather, the Saharan dust will continue to move across the Atlantic and cross the Caribbean and into the U.S. on Thursday, starting with parts of Florida and South Carolina. It will continue to drift across the southeast region of the country on Friday.
The plume is about 2,000 miles wide from east to west and 750 miles long from north to south, AccuWeather states. The plume — the apparently largest to reach the U.S. so far this year — is expected to continue on over the Gulf Coast in the following days.
But will the dust cloud reach Washington state, or impact the air quality in the Pacific Northwest region?
Most of the dust will likely remain thousands of feet high in the atmosphere, meaning it should have minimal impact on air quality at the ground level, even in states it's expected to cross over. That means that Washington state and the Pacific Northwest region shouldn't experience any impact from the storm.
Still, if you're in the southeastern region of the U.S., AccuWeather warns that, 'People who are sensitive to dust or vulnerable to the effects of poor air quality should monitor air quality conditions and forecasts.' Air quality forecasts can be found at the National Weather Service website or at AccuWeather.com.
Other impacts from the dust cloud could include hazy conditions in some parts of the country, more colorful sunrises and sunsets and a slight cooling effect in some areas.
While the current Saharan plume is unusually large, dust from the Sahara Desert blows out toward the U.S. often.
According to NASA, winds pick up an estimated 100 million tons of dust from the Sahara Desert every year — a sizable amount blows out over the North Atlantic Ocean.
Dust plays a major role in Earth's climate and biological systems. The airborne particles absorb and reflect sunlight, which impacts the amount of solar energy that reaches the surface. The particles also can promote or reduce cloud and storm formation.
The dust, which is rich in iron and other minerals, can act as a natural fertilizer for ocean ecosystems and lands downwind.
The Sahara Desert is Earth's largest source of airborne dust. In winter and spring storms, Saharan dust often fertilizes the soils of the Amazon rainforest.