Houston weather: Saharan Dust to affect the area over the next few days
HOUSTON - You may notice the haze increasing over the skies of Houston over the next few days.
It's being caused by Saharan Dust that has traveled a long way pushing off of the west coast of Africa and moving all the way across the Atlantic Ocean.
In recent days, this Saharan Dust has been building into the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea.
Southerly flow will bring this Saharan dust into the Houston area the next few days, possibly messing with our air quality. Right now, the current & forecast air quality for Houston for Tuesday and Wednesday remains in the moderate category but could increase to the "Unhealthy For Sensitive Groups" category.
Those sensitive groups would include kids, the elderly and those with respiratory issues such as asthma.
There is a good side to the dust, however. Because this dusty air is drier air, it will help to lower the humidity levels and bring down our heat index values. This means that we may FINALLY be able to get rid of all those heat alerts we've been dealing with.
So far, a heat advisory has not been issued for the Houston area for Tuesday.
The Saharan dust also helps to limit tropical activity since drier air hinders tropical development. The drier air will also limit our rain chances to around 20% for the next few days.
