African Dust Storms Stifle Hurricanes

Here's a great article about Hurrican formation and the cycles of dust storms in the Sahara Desert. Here's a sample

"Westward swirling clouds of dust from the Sahara Desert might be putting a damper on Atlantic Ocean hurricanes, a new study suggests.

Researchers analyzing satellite data from the past 25 years found that during years when the dust storms rose up, fewer hurricanes swept across the Atlantic, while periods of low dust storm activity were followed by more intense hurricane activity. Hurricanes are fueled by heat and moisture, and it's thought the dust storms help muffle the storms before they fully develop. By doing so, however, the dust storms could shift a hurricane's direction further to ...(continue article)"