6 April 2014
Wave Clouds, Contrails, and Sahara Dust
Posted by Dan Satterfield
They did not last long (and were already fading when I took this shot), but for a few minutes were pretty nice. (Dan’s pic in Ocean City, Maryland.)
What causes this? Very good website about it here:
It was a bit chilly with an onshore sea-breeze, but sparkling early spring sunshine in spite of it being 10° C. I got a decent pic of the Ocean City pier that was damaged by a February nor’easter.
Dan’s pic.
Also notice the Jet contrails over the Eastern Mediterranean today. This image from the NASA Terra satellite about 600km up.
NASA Terra Satellite image taken Sunday, 6 April 2014.
Dust blowing off the Sahara made it’s way all the way to the UK over the weekend and prompted air pollution warnings. My friend and professional photographer Alan Williams in Northern Wales, took some snaps of the dust on his car Saturday.
Dust from the Sahara on cars in Northern Wales. Alan Williams photos.
Dan Satterfield has worked as an on air meteorologist for 32 years in Oklahoma, Florida and Alabama. Forecasting weather is Dan's job, but all of Earth Science is his passion. This journal is where Dan writes about things he has too little time for on air. Dan blogs about peer-reviewed Earth science for Junior High level audiences and up.
Yeah, we call those clouds Kelvinators. But Sahara dust in the British Isles? The harmattan is supposed to blow westward across the Atlantic. So how did the dust make it to Wales?
The wind direction changed. It does that sometimes 🙂