Saharan Dust

A major multi-day Saharan dust event has ravaged the snowpack in the Alps and the air quality across parts of Europe this week.

Below is a composite MODIS image from Tuesday (15 March) showing a cyclone off the coast of Morocco with extensive dust streaming northward from the Sahara across Spain and France.  

If you think snirt (snow+dirt) is bad around here, check out the video below from Spain's Sierra Nevada.  

Sierra Nevada pic.twitter.com/ukUhZkYud6

— Esteban Villarejo (@Villarejo) March 15, 2022

Dust coverage was extensive.  Here's a web cam from this afternoon at Mölltaler Glacier in the eastern Alps of Austria. 

Saharan dust events are not uncommon in parts of Europe, but this one looks especially severe.  In addition to making for a less-than-ideal ski surface, such dust does accelerate the spring melt by increasing the amount of solar radiation absorbed by the snowpack.  On the other hand, the dust also provide nutrients for ecosystems.  

Often such events are called sand storms, but sand particles are larger than dust particles and typically do not travel such long distances.  Thus, I prefer to call them dust storms.  Regardless of the name, they are not good for skiing.