Saharan dust plume expected for Christmas Eve in USVI and PR

SAN JUAN — A plume of Saharan dust will begin affecting the local region, with direct impacts on the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico starting tomorrow (Christmas Eve day), the National Weather Service said.

Peak concentrations are expected to occur from Tuesday afternoon into the overnight hours. according to the NWS.

Therefore, hazy skies can be anticipated on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, the NWS said.

“This event is classified as moderate to severe and is expected to gradually diminish by Wednesday afternoon onward,” NOAA meteorologist Yidiana Zayas-Rivera told the Virgin Islands Free Press tonight.

John McCarthy

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John F. McCarthy is a veteran journalist in the Caribbean, writing from the "Decision Space" where survival meets the surreal. His reporting steel was tempered by a lineage of legendary editors and broadcasters, including Ed Wynn Brant (The Bomb), Owen Eschenroder (Ann Arbor News), Lynelle Emanuel (BVI Beacon), and Charles Thanas (WSVI-TV). Alongside longtime colleague Kenneth C. "Casey" Clark, McCarthy has navigated the front lines of the territory’s history—from the 1997 volcanic "snow" to every major hurricane since Hugo. Known for leaning out of doorless helicopters to capture the "money shot," McCarthy now edits the V.I. Free Press, providing the essential link between the island's colonial past and its SpaceX future.