A massive cloud of Saharan dust has swept thousands of miles across the Atlantic Ocean and settled over a key breeding ground for tropical storms, creating an environment that is hostile to hurricane development.

The sprawling African airmass, that is showing little sign of departing anytime soon, is injecting dry, stable air into the region – playing a major factor in the Atlantic hurricane season as summer steps into full stride.

Saharan dust is a mass of very dry, dusty air that forms over the Sahara Desert and is lofted high into the atmosphere by strong winds that serve as a natural suppressor for would-be storms.

During the late spring and summer, these massive plumes are carried westward across the Atlantic Ocean, where their dry air and strong winds prove a worthy obstacle to tropical storm development.

As hurricane season shifts into gear, this expansive Saharan dust plume could act as a protective shield across the Atlantic, making it more difficult for storms to organize and strengthen.

Hurricanes thrive with several key ingredients: warm ocean water, plenty of tropical moisture and light winds that facilitate storm growth and craft a storm.

Map tracking Atlantic dust, showing high concentrations over the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea. FOX Weather

Think of hurricane development as a recipe. Warm ocean water, deep tropical moisture and light winds are the essential ingredients.

Saharan dust is the ingredient that doesn’t belong—smothering storms before they have a chance to come together.

Sahara dust floods the atmosphere with dry air, suppresses thunderstorm development, and can increase wind shear that tears apart developing systems.

While Saharan dust can suppress storm development, it doesn’t guarantee that storms can’t develop in the Atlantic basin.

The dust acts as a “protective shield,” making it difficult for storms to organize and strengthen. Abdullah – stock.adobe.com

The result is fewer opportunities for tropical disturbances to organize and strengthen into hurricanes that could eventually threaten the US mainland.

With the Atlantic basin quiet and no immediate tropical development expected over the next several days, the arrival of Saharan Dust in the atlantic will prove a worthy adversary to any brewing development.