That sneeze this morning wasn't caused by ordinary dust.

Dust clouds from the Sahara desert have traveled across the Atlantic Ocean, into the Caribbean, and up through the Gulf into Texas, said Matt Lanza, a meteorologist in the energy industry and managing editor of Space City Weather, a Houston weather forecast blog.

The clouds make the sky look milky and really hazy, Lanza told Chron.com.

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"It's not so much out of the ordinary, it only happens a couple times per summer," Lanza said.

The dust can also cause sunrise and sunsets to look more brilliant because there are more particles in the air for light to reflect off of, Lanza said. Dust clouds like this can also lead to increased particulate matter, which can cause asthma and allergy sufferers to have some problems, he added.

The dust overhead should begin to dissipate late Tuesday and into Wednesday, Lanza said.

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