Meteorologists use satellites to track dust, smoke in atmosphere
Data from NASA was put together for an Aerosol Simulation, which may help us understand and better predict weather. Wochit
Hurricane season and dust storms from Africa have one thing in common: they typically occur at the same time.
And with new satellites used by the National Weather Service, meteorologists are able to see the dust storms being blown into the Atlantic Ocean. And during hurricane season, dust in the atmosphere is considered a good thing, said meteorologist John Metz.
"Dust has a negative affect on a hurricane. Dry air in general causes hurricanes to weaken. We saw it in when Tropical Storm Don was approaching Texas," Metz said. "We had extremely dry air that caused it to completely evaporate within the course of a few hours."
But once the dust stops blowing from Africa a tropical depression can intensify, similar to what was seen Aug. 25.
"We monitor how dry air might influence (a hurricane)," Metz said. "With Harvey, we didn’t have any dry air. It was completely wrapped in moisture."
Satellites also show smoke plumes being lifted into the atmosphere. Smoke is monitored routinely so meteorologists can predict the its projected path as it can affect people's health.
Hurricane season lasts from June 1 to Nov. 30.
Watch a video of what satellites capture of the earth's atmosphere.