African dust cloud not expected to affect North Texas

A large dust cloud from the African Sahara Desert shouldn’t affect North Texas over the weekend.

The dust cloud is expected to affect parts of the Texas Gulf Coast, including Houston, starting Friday night and throughout the day Saturday.

Satellite imagery shows the dust cloud stretching across the Atlantic and moving its way through the Caribbean to the Gulf of Mexico.

FOX4 Meteorologist Albert Romero said most North Texans won’t even notice the parts of the dust cloud that does make it into the area. He said there will likely be a subtle haze in the sky, but nothing more.

One thing the dust cloud will do for North Texans is create vibrant sunsets, Romero said.

Dust storms from the Sahara typically occur during the warmer summer months and do have a noticeable side effect for the Gulf – suppressing tropical activity that leads to storms or hurricanes.