Dr. Frank loves tropical meteorology. It was his study of how upper level low pressure systems impact the tropics that lead to the discovery of the origin of this dust we've all been breathing in for the past few days. To study these Tropical Upper Tropospheric Troughs (TUTT's) he and his colleagues flew high altitude missions to gather data on them. But after landing, they would sometimes find the wing covered in a thin layer of dust. (Photo: Severe Weather Europe)
Where was this dust coming from? After comparing samples from across the globe a match was found. It was coming from the Sahara Desert in Africa. Powerful thunderstorms were picking up millions of tons of dust and flinging it into the upper atmosphere. Westerly winds carried it over the ocean, and sometimes all the way to Houston.
