Rare Saharan dust clouds Puerto Rico
Strong warm winds over the Sahara desert typically whip up sand at this time of year and carry it thousands of miles across the Atlantic Ocean to the Americas. This year, the dust is the most dense in a half a century, according to several meteorologists. The thick smog has sharply reduced visibility.
The dust cloud moved into the eastern Caribbean at the weekend and by Tuesday had smothered Hispaniola, Jamaica, Puerto Rico and eastern Cuba, continuing its advance up and westward toward Central America and southern United States.
