Why is there so much dust off of Africa killing any tropical cyclone development? Higher than normal pressures N & NW of Africa drive stronger than normal low level easterlies further south than normal from Africa over the water. This means the low level wind flow is increased off of the Sahara desert and it moves the dust/dry air out over the Atlantic.

Look at the second image below, you will notice the "green" colors appearing over western Europe and the NE Atlantic. The last 2 weeks pressures have been coming down & this trend should continue, meaning Saharan dust should not be an issue in the coming weeks. We hope this helps everyone understand the PATTERN that has been producing this (good) problem :) It can't & won't last forever as there are cycles to everything in the weather department. September will be a very different month in terms of tropical activity compared to August.

Here is the pattern that has been causing the dry air/dust issue.

Look at the average pressures over the last two weeks. It is coming down which will allow the easterly flow off of Africa to settle down and more waves will be able to develop.