USVI-On-Line

A friend and colleague is headed down to St. John today, with extended family and friends, and I have been updating him on some new developments, including thimble jellyfish and Sargassum. I've started to see the Sahara Dust showing up as well, but a look at the Spice Cam yesterday confirmed that it had arrived in force:
I don't think that I've ever seen it this bad; only the lower elevations on the East End of St. Thomas are visible. It usually doesn't get this heavy until well into the summer. While the dust can clear out in a day with the right winds, and I certainly hope that it clears up during my friend's stay, the five-day forecast is pretty iffy:
http://forecast.uoa.gr/LINKS/DUST/dust. ... onc&lan=en
(Press "Play" to start the animation).
Here's an older post of mine on the subject:
http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/v ... =1&t=27307

Jenn reported on the heavy dust today as well, over on NOSJ (http://newsofstjohn.com). That article is interesting in that it quotes Eleanor Gibney, whose memories go way farther back than mine, that dust in the VI wasn't a thing 40 years ago, and has accelerated since then. As such, it could be yet one more side effect of a warming world. The ultimate impact of continued warming will be the shrinkage, and likely the eventual disappearance, of the iconic and precious white sand beaches that St. John offers to the world.

The good news, I suppose, is that no plague of locusts is expected anytime soon.

All the best,

Kevin

A positive is that heavy Sahara dust is linked to a quieter hurricane season.

It can also give us some outstanding sunsets.

JIM

I have never been on island when the Sahara dust has been present. Do you typically see a "film" of dust on say patio furniture, floors, etc. when the haze is present? Does it present breathing problems for those with asthma or allergies? Just curious.

I'll take the Sahara Dust over stinging plankton any day of the week!

The sahara dust toward the end of our trip was heavier than I've ever seen it, and I visit in August as well. It didn't seem to bother my breathing this time as much as it does in August though - maybe a difference in humidity as well?

We also had much less breeze this trip than we've had before. I actually turned the AC on a couple times at night for a few minutes just to take the edge off - I don't usually need to do that as high up as we stay.

Here's a picture taken from Asolare on Wednesday