Saharan dust can lead to gorgeous sunsets as in this image taken, July 18, 2024, from the track at Miami Dade College Kendall campus. Howard Cohen/Getty Images

While the idea of a massive dust cloud from the deserts of Africa hitting the United States might seem like the plot of a sci-fi movie -- it's actually just an annual weather event that can give way to some spectacular seaside sunsets.

The dust mass, which forms in the Sahara Desert in northern Africa and blows thousands of miles across the Atlantic Ocean, is forecast to arrive in Florida this week.

The size of the cloud is approximately 2,000 miles wide from west to east and 750 miles long from north to south, according to Accuweather.

When will the dust cloud reach the U.S.?

The plume, which is visible from space via sa

See Full Page