Saharan Dust Cloud On the Move, is Louisiana in the Path?

It seems like every year we're getting a cloud of dust dropped on us from overseas. Forecasters are getting ready for another instance of this phenomenon, as a cloud of Saharan Desert "dust" is moving its way over the ocean and towards the United States.

This odd formation of dust comes from Africa, where a large plume of sand and dust is somehow capable of traveling more than 5,000 miles to get from one side of the Atlantic Ocean to the other. There's one of these clouds floating across the globe right now, and it has the Southern United States in its target. Well, at least for now.

See, these Saharan Dust Clouds are wildly unpredictable, and can end up causing trouble for a whole bunch of states, or just one state. It could float right through the Gulf of Mexico, and bypass the US altogether. Making it Mexico's problem.

But right now, forecasters do think that the US will get a taste of dust. Florida seems to be the most likely target, but a lot of the predictions think Texas will take the biggest hit.

Nearly all of the forecasts do predict that Louisiana, at least the coast, will get some dust action. But again, this is wildly unpredictable, and a shift to the winds in the Gulf could push a big layer of the dust cloud into North Louisiana, and out of Texas.

If we do get blasted with a blanked of dust, it could be bad for your health. While breathing in Saharan Dust probably won't kill you, it can still cause some issues. It can trigger breathing issues like Asthma, COPD, and other respiratory infections. It also can irritate the skin, eyes and other things it comes in contact with.

As a whole, here's the people who are the highest risk of being negatively impacted:

Children and babies
Older adults
People with underlying lung conditions
People with chronic cardiopulmonary diseases

Basically, if you fall under any of those categories, it might be best to stay indoors or participate in outdoor activities that don't require you to breathe heavily.

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Gallery Credit: KATELYN LEBOFF