A familiar summer visitor is making its way back across the Atlantic. A plume of Saharan dust is expected to arrive in Central Florida late Thursday and linger into the weekend, bringing hazier skies, fewer storms, and hotter temperatures.

It’s about this time every year that we look for Saharan dust to make its several thousand-mile trip across the Atlantic.

Saharan dust isn’t just about hazy skies and vibrant sunsets, it can also impact air quality and health.

It's the time of the year when sea breeze storms become a daily occurrence, the tropics begin to slowly simmer, and the Saharan dust returns with a vengeance.

Dusty rain likely across Central Florida

The dust will lead to colorful sunsets and slightly hazy skies, with its effects expected to be relatively mild.

Along with frequent lightning, heavy rainfall will be the biggest impact as some storms will be capable of producing 1-3 inches of rain.

Hurricane Julia weakened into a tropical storm on Sunday after making landfall in Central America.

The last time there was not a tropical depression, storm or hurricane in the Atlantic during the month of August was in 1997.

A quiet stretchSince Cristobal’s landfall, wind shear has dominated the tropical Atlantic, helping to keep tropical development down. El-Nino tends to suppress tropical development with higher wind shear and sinking air over the Atlantic. The blue bar represents La-Nina. Green represents rising air more favorable for tropical development. This does not guarantee storm development as other factors are in play, but hints at the most favorable locations for a storm.