A very large dust cloud from the Sahara Desert, the biggest one this year, has moved over the Caribbean and is now heading towards the United States. This dust cloud covers a vast area, stretching from Jamaica to Barbados and from the Turks and Caicos Islands to Trinidad and Tobago. Health warnings have been issued because the high amount of dust can cause sneezing, coughing, and watery eyes. This Saharan Air Layer (SAL), which forms over the Sahara Desert and travels west across the Atlantic from April to October, also helps prevent tropical storms during hurricane season. The dust cloud is expected to reach Florida, Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi later this week. Last June, a record-breaking Saharan dust cloud, called the "Godzilla dust cloud," covered the Caribbean, which was the largest event of its kind in fifty years.