That haze in the air around the First Coat Friday is dust from the Sahara Desert.
The plume is over 2,000 feet wide and was sent on its way to us by a large cluster of strong thunderstorms that formed over the West African desert last week.
National Weather Service meteorologist Andrew Kennedy forsees an uncomfortable few days ahead for folks on the First Coast.
Related: Area Weather Conditions And Forecast
“We’re going to be in the mid to upper 90s. A couple of places could actually reach even a hundred degrees. And it’s going to be hazy, hot, humid and, yeah, lower rain chances than normal because of the dust,” he said.
Kennedy said the dusty conditions will be with us until Tuesday when we should see a return of the normal summer weather pattern with higher chances for rain.
In the meantime, he urges people with asthma or other upper-respiratory conditions to stay indoors as much as possible until the dust moves on.?
Contact reporter Cyd Hoskinson at choskinson@wjct.org, 904-358-6351 and on Twitter at @cydwjctnews.
