Swathes of the South West could be hit by ‘blood rain’ on Tuesday.
The phenomenon – which sees red rain drops fall from the sky – is actually caused by dust and sand particles picked up from deserts and transported thousands of miles by strong winds.
In this case, Cornwall and the Scilly Isles will be hit by rain which could have dust in it from the Sahara Desert in Morocco.
“Dusty air blown 2,000+ miles from the Sahara is on it way to Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly by Tuesday,” said the Kernow Weather Team.
“A broad cold upper low is pushing the Saharan dust from N Morocco. This will push the air pollution up and could cause some problems for people with breathing difficulties.
“We could see some sharp showers on Tuesday, and the rain could have an orange colour to it.”
Saharan dust, as it is also known, can see sand from the Sahara reach high altitudes and travel vast distances across the globe thanks to high winds.
“In order for the dust to get from up in the sky down to the ground, you need something to wash it out of the sky – rain,” said the Met Office.
“As raindrops fall, they collect particles of dust on the way down. Then when the raindrops land on something and eventually evaporate, they leave behind a layer of dust.”
Source: plymouthherald
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