There will be no refuge from Saharan dust anywhere across the island today (June 17), the Jamaica Meteorological Service has advised, as the plume is fully enveloping the central Caribbean. 

The Met Office, in a 5:00 am Thursday forecast, added while the Saharan dust is expected to produce hazy conditions across Jamaica over the next few days, it should also be windy in southern parishes. 

A high-pressure ridge, paired with the dust plume, are the two dominant influences on weather over Jamaica; both anticipated to persist until Sunday.

Satellite imagery tracking the dust plume over the last 24 hours shows that the Saharan Air Layer (SAL) has all but covered much of the central and western Caribbean, including Hispaniola, Jamaica, Cayman Islands and parts of Cuba, the Bahamas as well as Turks and Caicos Islands.

The maximum temperature expected for cities Kingston and Montego Bay is 32 degrees Celcius.

Breakdown of towns and cities forecast: 

The Jamaica Met Service is reminding fisherfolk and marine interests that a small craft warning remains in effect for inshore and offshore areas of the south coast and also offshore areas of the north coast due to strong winds and rough seas.

Also, see more on Jamaica Met Service’s three-day outlook:

Friday/Saturday: Partly cloudy, windy and hazy especially across southern parishes.

Sunday: Isolated afternoon showers and thunderstorms mainly across western parishes. Windy conditions across southern parishes.