Latest news with #SaharanDesert
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Invest 96L meanders in Atlantic but trailing tropical waves raise concern
MIAMI – Despite some tropical activity percolating in the central Atlantic basin, it looks like we'll get through the second week of August without any impacts from the ongoing hurricane season. But the third week of August may be a different story, as forecasters are eyeing a series of disturbances that may have aspirations to eventually become more significant storms. Right now, forecasters are just tracking a broad and disorganized tropical disturbance dubbed Invest 96L that is currently drifting west-northwestward across the central tropical Atlantic. How To Watch Fox Weather While the system remains poorly organized, gradual development remains possible as it begins turning northward later this week. In its way sits a layer of dry, dusty Saharan Desert air that will work to eat away at the system's moisture and subsequently, keep its power in check. Still, the National Hurricane Center currently gives the system a medium chance of developing into a tropical depression or storm over the next several days. Any development will likely be slow and limited as the system remains over open water. Closely Watched Hurricane Forecast Gets Update As Peak Of Season ApproachesAnd even if the storm manages to gather some strength, steering currents are expected to pull 96L to the north farther into the open Atlantic. Thus, the system poses no immediate threat to land, though it will be monitored closely through the weekend. Meanwhile, a weak area of low pressure a few hundred miles off the Southeast U.s. that had been tagged as an area to watch for tropical development by the NHC is only producing minimal showers and thunderstorms and is no longer of any concern. While 96L's fate seems to feature a harmless northern jaunt through the Atlantic, another tropical wave emerging off the west coast of Africa in the coming days is leaning toward a more southerly track across the ocean. While long-range forecast guidance currently indicates only limited development of this system as it moves west across the Atlantic, a southerly track would keep the system in more favorable conditions for development and find steering conditions more conducive to eventually reaching the Caribbean and/or the U.S. "On the current schedule, this new disturbance would reach the vicinity of the Caribbean islands late next week or over that weekend," said FOX Weather Hurricane Specialist Bryan Norcross. "Whether it will have shifted to the north by that time is unknowable. The sledding is on the rough side across the Tropical Atlantic. Dust and dry air look likely to impact the system on its trip west." The western Atlantic, including the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean, and waters off the southeast U.S. continues to harbor the basin's warmest ocean temperatures, according to the FOX Forecast Center. Any systems that manage to reach those warmer pools of water would have a higher ceiling for intensification. Noaa Sticks With Prediction Of Above-average 2025 Atlantic Hurricane Season As Peak Nears "As the system is approaching the vicinity of the (Caribbean) islands, the atmospheric pattern is forecast to become more conducive to the system strengthening," Norcross said. "Since a system's intensity and track are often related – a stronger system is normally more likely to turn north – we'll have to see how quickly this one organizes as it moves west. The more organized it gets, the better the forecasts are likely to be." But Norcross warned that despite rampant social media speculation showing some forecasts 12-14 days out indicating a potential major storm near the US, there is no forecast skill in predicting storms that far out. "Despite what you might see posted on social media, there is nothing more to know," Norcross said. "All long-range forecasts for a system that has not even begun to develop are subject to large errors and are likely to change many times. Posts showing landfall in the United States are not worth your attention and are only there to cause angst." But the end of August looks to keep forecasters busy. Norcross says two or three other disturbances are forecast to move off Africa behind this one. "They will all bear watching, of course," he said. "There is nothing more to say at this point."Original article source: Invest 96L meanders in Atlantic but trailing tropical waves raise concern Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
17-07-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Largest piece of Mars on Earth sells for $5.3M in Sotheby's auction
July 17 (UPI) -- A meteorite from Mars, the largest piece ever found on Earth, sold for $5.3 million to an anonymous bidder at a Sotheby's auction in New York on Wednesday. Bidding for the 54-pound, reddish-brown object began at $2 million, according to ABC News, and it went to $4.3 million plus $1 million in fees and taxes. The original owner wasn't disclosed. The rock, known as NWA 16788, is 70% larger than the next largest piece of Mars recovered, according to Sothebys. It is nearly 15 inches long. "This is the largest piece of Mars on planet Earth," Cassandra Hatton, vice chairwoman of the science and natural history at Sotheby's, said in a video posted online. "Remember that approximately 70% of Earth's surface is covered in water. So we're incredibly lucky that this landed on dry land instead of the ocean where we could actually find it." The auction house said the rock broke from Mars after an asteroid strike and went more than 140 million miles to Earth. The piece crashed in the Saharan Desert in Nigeria's Agadez region. It was discovered by a meteorite hunter in November 2023, according to Sotheby's. Martian meteorites make up 400 of the 77,000 officially recognized meteorites, according to the auction house. Testing determined it is an olivine-gabbroic shergottite, which is a relatively new type of meteorite from Mars. That material is also found on the Earth's upper crust. The rocket is composed of 21.2% of a glass known as maskelynite, which was produced when an asteroid struck the Martian surface and forced the object off the planet's surface. Only about 19 craters are big enough to produce meteorites on Earth. "This isn't just a miraculous find, but a massive data set that can help us unlock the secrets of our neighbor, the red planet," Hatton said. The rock was on public display at the Italian Space Agency in Rome and in a private gallery in Arezzo, Tuscany, in 2024. "It would be a shame if it disappeared into the vault of an oligarch," Steve Brusatte, professor of paleontology and evolution at Scotland's University of Edinburgh, told CNN before the auction. The Martian rock was part of Geek Week with sales of items related to natural history, science and technology history, and space exploration. Solve the daily Crossword
Bloomberg
04-06-2025
- Climate
- Bloomberg
A 2,000 Mile Saharan Dust Cloud Is Approaching Texas and Florida
A swirling gray haze forced Claribel Ramirez to shut her house to block out the fine grit that settled on every flat surface in Puerto Rico. The culprit? A 2,000-mile dust plume blown off Africa's Saharan Desert and sent across the Atlantic where it will reach Florida and possibly even Texas later this week. There, it will turn the sky a dull gray during the day and possibly provide some dazzling sunsets. And if the winds mix it down to the surface, the grit will make people sneeze, wheeze and plead for relief from the allergens and grime.
