Late-Season Dust Storm Sweeps Over Mali as NASA Says an Atlantic Crossing Is Unlikely

A large dust storm swept over parts of Mali and neighboring West African countries in early September, at a time of year when the region’s dust activity normally winds down, NASA reported Sept. 10. The MODIS instrument on NASA’s Terra satellite captured the plume on Sept. 5, according to NASA Earth Observatory’s image of the Mali dust storm. In the image, dust obscures the ground across a broad stretch of the country.

For U.S. readers, the key detail is where the dust is heading. NASA said wider satellite views in the following days showed aerosols from the region moving west and spilling over the Atlantic Ocean, but a full transatlantic crossing is unlikely. Such crossings are more common from late spring through summer.

The storm is still a useful window into a larger system. African dust that crosses the ocean in summer can haze skies from Florida to Texas, deliver nutrients to the Amazon rainforest and shape the conditions Atlantic storms must survive. A late-season outbreak is a reminder of how that system works, even when a particular plume stays closer to Africa.

A Dust Storm Near the End of the Season

According to Tianle Yuan, an atmospheric scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, storms like this one are often associated with haboobs, powerful dust storms driven by strong convective winds of the kind thunderstorms produce.

The timing, not the size, is what NASA highlighted. The agency did not describe the plume as record-setting or unprecedented. It noted that dust storms can still occur as summer winds down in West Africa, even as most of the region’s dust activity tapers off.

The broader transport season follows a clear rhythm. According to NOAA’s Saharan Air Layer research program, activity usually ramps up in mid-June, peaks from late June to mid-August and begins to rapidly subside after mid-August. During the peak, new outbreaks emerge from the African coast every three to five days.

From West Africa to Gulf Coast Skies

The Saharan Air Layer is a mass of very dry, dusty air that forms over the Sahara during late spring, summer and early fall. Outbreaks usually occupy a layer 2 to 2.5 miles thick, with its base about a mile above the surface, NOAA says. During the peak of the season, outbreaks can reach as far west as Florida, Central America, and even Texas and sometimes cover an area as large as the lower 48 states.

When that dust arrives, skies can take on a hazy white look and sunsets an orange glow. NOAA advises that people with asthma and other chronic lung diseases take precautions and limit time outdoors during dust storms, and it refers residents to their state air-quality agency or the CDC for health guidance.

The dust also carries nutrients. Using data from NASA’s CALIPSO satellite from 2007 through 2013, researchers estimated that an average of 27.7 million tons of Saharan dust falls on the Amazon basin each year, including an estimated 22,000 tons of phosphorus a year. That is about the same amount of phosphorus the region loses to rain and flooding.

“Dust will affect climate and, at the same time, climate change will affect dust,” lead author Hongbin Yu, an atmospheric scientist at the University of Maryland who works at NASA Goddard, said when the study was released in 2015. The work helped quantify how a desert on one continent helps fertilize a forest on another.

Dust, El Niño and a Quiet Atlantic

Saharan dust outbreaks have a well-studied link to hurricanes. NOAA says the layer’s warmth, dryness and strong mid-level winds of 25 to 55 miles per hour (10 to 25 meters per second) have been shown to suppress tropical cyclone formation and strengthening. Describing joint NASA and NOAA field research in 2006, NOAA research meteorologist Jason Dunion said in a NASA Earthdata feature on that research that when storm systems run into the layer, “they consistently struggle,” especially if they are small.

There is no indication that this plume is holding hurricanes back. NOAA’s updated outlook for the Atlantic seasongives a 75 percent chance of a below-normal season, a 20 percent chance of near-normal and a 5 percent chance of above-normal, with 7 to 13 named storms. The agency pointed chiefly to El Niño conditions, which emerged in the equatorial Pacific in June and increase wind shear, with near-average Atlantic temperatures and a neutral West African monsoon as less influential factors.

The seasonal outlook is a probability, not a guarantee. As of 2 a.m. EDT on Sept. 10, the National Hurricane Center reported no tropical cyclones in the Atlantic.

El Niño could also reshape African dust itself. Yuan said the climate pattern can affect dust over the Sahel and Mali by shifting the Intertropical Convergence Zone, a band of tropical rainfall, and altering convection. The effect cuts both ways: drier conditions can leave more loose sediment for winds to lift, while weaker convection means fewer haboobs to kick it up. “The connection can be real, but hard to pin down for individual events,” he said.

Signals Worth Watching Through Fall

Important questions remain unanswered. NASA has not published an estimate of the plume’s total size or how long it lasted, and there is no official finding on whether more late-season outbreaks will follow. Scientists have also not tied this event to any single cause, including El Niño.

For U.S. residents, the practical guidance is modest. On hazy days along the Gulf Coast and in Florida, check local air-quality readings through AirNow or your state air agency before strenuous outdoor activity, especially if you have asthma or another lung condition.

Hurricane preparation should not depend on dust or on a below-normal forecast. When NOAA released its initial outlook in May, National Weather Service Director Ken Graham said “there is still uncertainty in how each season will unfold.” Coastal households should keep plans, supplies and evacuation zone information current.

The Atlantic season runs through Nov. 30, and NOAA says its historical peak typically extends from mid-September through October. The next developments to watch are the hurricane center’s tropical outlooks and any follow-up satellite imagery showing whether dust keeps flowing off West Africa this late in the year.

What Readers Want to Know

What did NASA observe over Mali?

NASA’s Terra satellite captured a large dust plume over Mali and neighboring countries on Sept. 5, 2026. NASA published the image Sept. 10, noting that it came at a time of year when regional dust activity usually winds down.

Will this dust reach the United States?

NASA said aerosols moved west over the Atlantic in the days after the image, but a full transatlantic crossing is unlikely. Crossings are more common from late spring through summer.

Is Saharan dust harmful to breathe?

When Saharan dust reaches the U.S., it can reduce air quality. NOAA advises people with asthma and other chronic lung diseases to take precautions and limit time outdoors during dust events, and to follow state air-quality or CDC guidance.

Does Saharan dust stop hurricanes?

The dry, dusty Saharan Air Layer can suppress tropical storm formation and strengthening, according to NOAA. But NOAA’s below-normal 2026 outlook is driven mainly by El Niño, and there is no indication this plume is affecting current storm activity.

What is a haboob?

A haboob is a powerful dust storm driven by strong convective winds, the kind produced by thunderstorms. NASA scientist Tianle Yuan said storms like the one over Mali are often associated with haboobs.

Should Atlantic coast residents relax their hurricane plans?

No. Seasonal outlooks are probabilities, and NOAA says uncertainty remains in how each season unfolds. The Atlantic season runs through Nov. 30.