The grand climax of our Crop Over Festival. The revelers are "jumping" along the streets creating a dust storm along the way.
It will be nothing compared to the Sahara Dust air layer that is headed our way.
Our yearly baptism of dust direct from the African coast.
Some of the dust has already drifted past our island chain, hence we had a few "overcast" days last week.
Everything will be coated in dust for weeks. Out come the inhalers and masks, and down go the asthmatics and respiratory sufferers.
Image from Meteosat
As can be seen from the updated satellite image above, it is a massive area of dust.The continent of Africa on the right and the Caribbean islands and South America on the left .
Once it gets caught up in the North East trade winds, there will be no escape.
No where to run, no where to hide.
At least it's not the awful Sargassum Sea seaweed that invaded the island a few years ago. See here and here.
Believe it or not we once got a light covering of Saharan sand up here in the Hebrides. The seaweed from the Sargassum arriving here would be really newsworthy! Good luck. Try making yourself a sort of spaceman helmet!
ReplyDeleteWow, that's incredible that the Sahara dust reached your neck of the woods on one occasion. I would have never thought that.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the spaceman helmet suggestion, but I think I'll pass on that one.
I will wear some sort of mask when the dust gets really bad.
Sounds horrible. Good luck with planning your protection the best you can!
ReplyDeleteThanks Monica, preparation is key, and I'll be ready this time around. It really is a health hazard every year.
DeleteI have learned so much about your island from your posts. I had no idea you had to deal with yearly dust storms. That's just not the image that pops to mind when I think of a tropical island. I'd wear a mask, too.
ReplyDeleteWe deal with quite of bit of different kinds of weather in this area.
DeleteIt's not really a dust storm. It has no gale force winds, it just that as the dust is carried across the Atlantic Ocean in the higher level air currents, the dust is deposited on us below.
Outside always looks overcast and grey while it envelops the island.
As a child growing up I don't recall the Sahara Dust crossing our island, but now it is of such magnitude, that it's hard not to notice.