spinup
Weather Watcher
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Posts: 25
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please be patient with me everybody for all my questions.
during the past several years of my increasing attention to the germinal development of tropical systems, included in many of the tropical weather discussions, mention is made of surges of african dust moving westerly, along with tropical waves...sometimes in front of them, sometimes behind them, sometimes in immediate proximity with them.
three questions;
is there a direct climalogical association with the generation of these surges of dust and with tropical waves?
to what degree does the proximity of these dust surges have on the development of thses waves into more organized and powerful systems? in front of, in back of, on top of....
and, does there seem to be more dust in the air this year as compared to recent years?
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Clark
Meteorologist
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Posts: 1710
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Dust surges can happen at any point in the year and seem to be most prominently associated with easterly wind surges from Africa, of which tropical waves can be one marker. They are generally thought to be related to rainfall over the Sahel region of north Africa. There's still a lot we don't know in that regard, however.
Dust surges generally have negative effects upon tropical cyclone formation and intensification if the cyclone is embedded in or near an outbreak. If it is on its periphery or if it is a particularly weak dust surge, these impacts may be reduced somewhat.
As for the last question, I would say not particularly but with the qualifier that I haven't followed that region of the basin all that much yet this year. I do know that in the spring rainfall had been above average there to date, so perhaps their frequency may be somewhat limited later this season. Again, however, there's just not enough data or knowledge to say for certain.
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