There’s a good chance you noticed the recent haze across south Florida. It moved-in prior to the weekend, and really settled-in! Here’s a look at downtown Miami in the hazy distance from Sunday afternoon. The layer of haze is technically “Saharan air” (sometimes called Saharan Dust) composed of tiny particles, high in the sky, that remain suspended. Believe it or not, they band together all the way across the Atlantic Ocean having come off the west coast of Africa.
With the Saharan air extending into Florida, there’s been limited rain. The “dust particles” actually suppress moisture and bring drier-than-usual conditions. The radar (from Sunday) supports that fact. Only sparse areas of rain headed across the Peninsula.
High pressure over the western Atlantic is dominating our weather pattern as the new week begins.
The main change involves a gradual increase in available moisture. As it arrives and deepens, rain showers (and a few thunderstorms) more easily form. These, by the way, typically get stirred up along the sea breeze boundary.
The week, as a whole, revolves around the same general set up: distant high pressure, an onshore flow, passing bands of rain.
After that minor break with drier air (recent weekend) we’re back to a seasonal pattern of scattered showers. The typical chance for potential downpours is between 30 and 40-percent on a daily basis, this time of year.
