A large area of Saharan Dust is moving west from the Gulf of Mexico, on a crash course toward the Texas coast today. Some of the dust will arrive early Sunday morning, but the greater concentration of dust particles won’t get here until Sunday night and into Monday.
The dust, which has already traveled more than 4,000 miles from Africa into the Gulf of Mexico, carries microscopic particles such as silica and quartz. These particles can be inhaled deeply into the lungs and trigger respiratory inflammation and irritation.
Thankfully, a large part of the population will not encounter major issues, but the increased dust could cause allergy flare-ups, including eye and throat irritation.
Sunday’s forecast
Skies may become slightly hazy Sunday morning from the Texas coast and across inland cities like San Antonio and Austin. Comfortable weather is expected early as temperatures hover in the mid- to upper 70s though the morning.
San Antonio temperatures will rise steadily throughout the day, hitting 90 degrees by around 1 p.m., before topping out at 93 degrees in the late afternoon. The humidity will stay high, causing heat index values to reach around 100 degrees.
In addition, a few spotty showers and thunderstorms are expected to develop during the afternoon and evening. However, rain chances in San Antonio will only be around 20%, meaning that about 80% of the region will stay dry.
Saharan dust increases
More dust is set to arrive Sunday night and into Monday. You won’t see a wall of dust coming toward you like sometimes occurs from Arizona to West Texas — this dust event will be more subtle. You’ll just notice skies become hazier, especially by Monday and Tuesday…