SLRPNK

There isn’t much green in the Sahara Desert, but after an unusual influx of rain, the color can be seen from space creeping into parts of one of the driest places in the world.

Satellites recently captured plant life blooming in parts of the typically arid southern Sahara after storms moved there when they shouldn’t. It has also caused catastrophic flooding. Rainfall north of the equator in Africa typically increases from July through September as the West African Monsoon kicks into gear.

The phenomenon is marked by an increase in stormy weather that erupts when moist, tropical air from near the equator meets hot, dry air from the northern portion of the continent. The focus for this stormy weather – known as the Intertropical Convergence Zone – shifts north of the equator in the Northern Hemisphere’s summer months. Much of it sags south of the equator during the Southern Hemisphere’s warm months.

But since at least mid-July, this zone has shifted farther north than it typically should, sending storms into the southern Sahara, including portions of Niger, Chad, Sudan and even as far north as Libya, according to data from NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center.

And this weather shift also affecting Atlantic hurricane season this year.

The situation can be complex because we don't know if these weather shifts will also affect the weather in other regions.