Hurricane hunter studies ‘Hurricane Nursery,’ Saharan dust

ORLANDO, Fla. — NOAA sent a hurricane hunter 4,000 miles to research the Saharan dust off the west coast of Africa.

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Hurricane hunters track storm systems in the Gulf, the Caribbean, the Eastern and the Central Atlantic, but there’s one area they don’t normally go.

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This month, for the first time, NOAA flew its G-IV hurricane hunter 4,000 miles to the Cabo Verde Islands, an area referred to as “Hurricane Nursery,” where storms are born.

They often develop from little ripples in the atmosphere, tropical waves, but there’s something out there that can stop it all: dry, dusty Saharan air.

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