If grabbing a snapshot of a Tampa Bay sunset wasn't alluring enough, the next few days may force you to take out your smartphone while dust all the way from the Sahara Desert moves across Florida.

The product is milky skies, said Tampa National Weather Service meteorologist John McMichael.

"It comes off the African Coast and moves to the west with prevailing easterly flow over the portions of Florida, the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico," he said. "It can produce hazy skies."

Every year in the summer, large amounts of the Sahara's dry dusty air is swept up into the upper layer of the atmosphere. There, winds move faster and carry the dust more than 5,000 miles to Florida.

The way the dust particles scatter across the sun's rays can produce vivid skies as the sun hangs near the horizon.

But the annual dust move can have effects on the weather, too, depending on how much is carried by the wind.

This year, there's not too much dust, said McMichael. Other years, the amount of dust can actually cool down water temperature when it clings to the sea's surface, decreasing the chances of tropical systems forming.

The dust can also dry out the atmosphere and lessen the chance of afternoon showers.

Experts recommend catching a sunset over a sunrise to see the dust's most stunning effect on our Florida skies. The sun sets at 8:17 p.m. in Tampa Bay on Friday.

The amount of dust — and the chance to catch one of these hazy sunsets — diminishes through the weekend.

Contact Sara DiNatale at sdinatale@tampabay.com. Follow @sara_dinatale.