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It's back: Dust from the Sahara – yes, that one – returns to North Texas

Get ready for more hazy skies later this weekend and early into the week.

Notice the hazy skies across North Texas on Monday?

More dust from the Sahara – yes, the the world's third largest desert located in North Africa – has returned North Texas.

We saw this a couple weeks ago.

Strong winds blowing across the Atlantic carried the dust all the way to Texas, a more than 5,000-mile journey. The dust, known in the meteorological community as the Saharan Air Layer, forms in the late spring or early summer and drifts into the western hemisphere annually, according to a Weather.com article from 2015. The dust clouds often reach the Caribbean and Florida, but had their sights set as far north as Chicago this time around.

The Saharan dust creates hazy skies and may cause some irritation for North Texans with respiratory issues, but doesn’t present any serious threat.

Lamont Bain, Meteorologist with the National Weather Service, is watching the map. He said the NWS is forecasting haze for all 46 counties they cover at the Fort Worth location.

“It’s not unreasonable to say that these hazy conditions may continue to extend for the next three to five days,” said Bain.

Dr. Stephen Mueller, a pulmonologist with Methodist Charlton Medical Center, said will mostly impact people with allergy or lung problems.

“The Saharan sand is not common to our area,” he said. This means people’s immune systems in North Texas aren’t familiar with the dust and may see more symptoms as their bodies adjust.

Dr. Mueller recommends for those with asthma to keep their inhalers close. He said it is better to stay inside in the air conditioning, and also stay hydrated.

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