Sahara dust may make you cough, but it's a storm killer. The bad news: Dust from the Sahara Desert in Africa -- totaling a staggering 2 to 9 trillion pounds worldwide -- has been almost a biblical plague on Texas and much of the Southern United States in recent weeks. The good news: the same dust appears to be a severe storm killer. Source 9f.
A cloud of dust from the Sahara Desert in northern Africa that has been drifting over the Atlantic Ocean is expected to reach the Texas Gulf Coast this week. During the summer months, strong winds can kick up dust from the surface of the Sahara. This mass of dust combines with warm, dry air to form what is known as the Saharan Air Layer, which then drifts westward on trade winds. Source 2g.