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Each year more than 180 million tons of dust blow out from North Africa, lofted from the Sahara Desert by strong seasonal winds. Perhaps most familiar are the huge, showy plumes that advance across the tropical Atlantic Ocean toward the Americas. But the dust goes elsewhere, too—settling back down in other parts of Africa or drifting north toward Europe.

Over the coming week with the weather staying dry and settled high pressure will sit across Ireland making it ideal for some dust all the way from the Sahara desert to move northwards towards Ireland with some people over the course of this week possibly find a light layer of red dust on the cars.

The thin layer of dust we will be seeing deposited on our cars and windows is originally from the Sahara desert. This dust has been lifted in the Sahara by strong winds up to very high altitudes and then carried hundreds of miles to us thanks to the southerly airflow.

The fine particles of sand get caught in rain droplets in clouds, falling to the ground when it rains. When the water evaporates, a thin layer of dust is left on surfaces.

With rain looking likely towards the end of the weekend this may make the dust more noticeable

Saharan dust leading to vivid sunrises and sunsets

Longer waves of red and orange light tend to penetrate the dusty haze, so sunrises and sunsets are likely to be especially beautiful. On the downside, where the plume mingles with showers it may carry desert dust to Earth’s surface. This will impair air quality and could trigger allergic reactions and asthma attacks. The more dust reaches an area, the more pronounced the effects will be.

The dust is expected to move northwards on Tuesday reaching Ireland later Tuesday into Wednesday. The latest dust load forecast can be seen below.

WEDNESDAY DUST FORECAST 3RD MARCH 2021