Large swaths of the Eastern Caribbean have been blanketed by a moderately thick plume of Saharan dust, whipped up from Africa by strong trade winds traversing the Atlantic Ocean on Tuesday (February 15).

Already, dust/haze advisories as well as small craft warnings have been issued by Barbados, St Lucia, and Trinidad and Tobago.

The Barbados Meteorological Service, in its Tuesday morning forecast, warned that varying degrees of visibility on land and over sea would be hampered by the dust plume.

“A plume of moderate to thick Saharan dust haze has blanketed Barbados this morning. These conditions will continue to significantly reduce visibility across the island and the surrounding marine area Tuesday, February 15. Although hazy conditions are forecast to reduce overnight, varying concentrations of Saharan dust haze will persist throughout the week,” the Bajan agency noted.

For its part, the Trinidad and Tobago Meteorological Service advised citizens with dust and other air quality sensitivities to take the necessary precautions.

The St Lucia Meteorological Service, in its weather summary, cited the influence of the Atlantic High-Pressure System, which forecasters there expect to continue generating “moderate to brisk easterly winds and rough seas around the Eastern Caribbean region during the next few days”.

“Patches of low-level cloud drifting along the wind flow will cause some scattered showers over the region during the forecast period,” the St Lucia weather watchdog further indicated.

According to the US-based National Hurricane Center (NHC), as a stationary front straddling far eastern Cuba and northern Honduras will dissipate later today, fresh-to-strong northeasterly winds are expected to funnel through the Windward Passage tonight through to late Thursday.

Strong winds are also forecast to expand in areal coverage over the central Caribbean Sea tonight, with trade winds strengthening and seas waves towering over the tropical north Atlantic waters east of the Lesser Antilles tonight through Wednesday night.

The gusty winds have prompted the Jamaica Meteorological Service to declare its own small craft warning for fisherfolk and other marine interests on the island’s south and north coasts.

While not mentioning any Saharan dust, the Jamaican Met Office forecasted isolated morning showers across sections of northern and southeastern parishes, which would give way to windy conditions with isolated showers mainly across northern parishes.