Effects of Saharan Dust on the Intensity and Track of Tropical Storm Hermine (2022)

Tropical Storm Hermine was the only tropical cyclone (TC) that formed over the eastern North Atlantic Ocean during September 2022. Hermine, which contributed to record rainfall and flooding over the western Canary Islands, began as a tropical wave over West Africa. During its formation and evolution, Hermine interacted with a dust plume while it propagated northward near the west coast of North Africa. In this study, we use the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Dust model and several diagnostic tools to assess the dust’s impact on Hermine’s intensity and track. The analysis will also include an assessment of the relative contributions of dust-radiation and dust-cloud interactions to Hermine’s evolution.