The UK has had to deal with severe weather this winter, with the country being battered by several storms the most recent being Storm Isha, which was labelled ‘unusual’ by meteorologists.
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Now that the storm has settled, the UK will experience a dust cloud travelling from the Saraha desert. A similar phenomenon occurred last year and also in 2022, so this would be the third year in a row. A thin layer of dust is likely to settle across the country, which can pose some health risks.
The Met Office has explained the phenomenon adding that the huge Sahara dust cloud will likely create some beautiful sunsets. However, some parts of the UK have been issued a yellow weather warning for wind.
A huge dust cloud will hit the UK
As reported by The Independent, the Met Office has warned that a dust cloud travelling all the way from the Saraha desert will hit the UK, today, Sunday, January 28. They explained that in some parts of the UK, mainly where rain is expected.
The dust will mainly hit the northern and western areas on Sunday due to the southerly wind, the dust will head further south and east on Monday.
Nick Finnis, meteorologist with Netweather said:
The dust load greatest across northern and western areas on Sunday – where southerly wind will be strongest, before the greatest dust load shifts further south and east on Monday.
Some of this dust will fall onto surfaces on the ground, such as cars, more particularly where rain is expected with an area of low pressure moving northeast... There is some uncertainty over the path of this rain across England and Wales for now.
Some parts of the UK are under a yellow wind warning
In addition to the huge dust cloud heading this way, some areas in the UK are under a yellow weather alert. As per The Independent, north-east Scotland has a yellow weather warning for wind as gusts of 50-60mph are expected, with the winds reaching 70mph in some areas.
Craig Snell, a Met Office meteorologist said:
On Sunday, it will turn quite windy again. It will be a short-lived windy spell, with gusts reaching 50-60mph in some places but it will not be anything like the recent storms
For the rest of the UK, it will mainly be a dry weekend with mild temperatures, with some areas reaching 15C:
In southern parts it will be a dryer weekend with sunny spells, but there will be a fair bit of cloud around.
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Sources used:
The Independent: ‘Sahara dust cloud headed to UK as Met Office warns cars could be covered by orange dirt’
