A layer of Sahara dust on your car: last month it was already a hit and you also have a chance on Wednesday. Dust that comes all the way from the desert to Brabant, to form a dirty layer on your hood here. How is that possible? Johhny Willemsen, meteorologist at Weerplaza, explains.
It all starts with bad weather near the Sahara, says Willemsen. “When the wind blows very hard, the lightest dust and sand is blown into the air. It is thrown to great heights.”
The meteorologist continues: “Sand and dust linger in different layers of air. Most of the dust remains between 2 and 6 kilometers altitude.”
The heaviest parts, the sand for example, will fall from the sky first. That happens in Spain and Portugal, for example. The thin layer of dust that you might be washing off your car in the car wash after tomorrow is peanuts to the junk that descends more southerly.
What comes down here is a scrap of dust left over. And that doesn’t happen with every stream in the Sahara either. “The wind should actually be coming our way from North Africa in a straight line. Sometimes it is possible with a bend, via France for example.”
When the dust hangs over us, you don’t have to notice it right away. But if the weather conditions are good (or against the odds for the proud shiny car owner), such as with light precipitation, then we will certainly notice something. “It makes for beautiful sunsets,” says Willemsen.
During heavier showers, cars stay clean, because of the ratio of water and dust in the raindrops.
Always can
The dust regularly comes this way. “It can happen anytime, but more often in the spring.”
So it’s not crazy. Tuesday evening the dust can provide a beautiful sunset again. On Wednesday, light precipitation is expected in some places. As said: chance of dusty cars.
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