The sky above Britain turned yellow today after a red sun was created by fatal Hurricane Ophelia.
The gales pulled Saharan dust north to the UK to create a blanket of orange cloud, with the deadly storms also bringing powerful 80mph winds – killing three people.
The layer of thick dust brought an eerie glow across the sky and turned the sun red as Hurricane Ophelia killer winds picked up dust and debris southern Europe and Africa.
As well as sparking fears of an apocalypse, there were health concerns this afternoon as the thick blanket of dust swirling in the sky posed a risk to people with breathing difficulties and the elderly.
Met Office forecaster Grahame Madge said: “It’s all connected with Ophelia, on the eastern side of the low pressure system air is coming up in the southern direction.
“Air is being pulled from southern Europe and Africa and that air contains a lot of dust.
“So it’s most likely the appearance of sunset at midday is caused by the particles scattering the light and giving the appearance of a red sun.
“It’s certainly spectacular at the moment and quite a talking point, we’ve had a lot of calls about it.”
Dubbed the “hurricane sun”, the unusual sight has been spotted by those on the south coast.
The most affected areas in the South West include Devon, Cornwall, Bristol and Somerset. It has even been seen as far north as Manchester and Liverpool.
A woman in her 70s was crushed by a falling tree as the 80mph storm hit Britain on October 16 – forcing Ireland to declare a “national emergency”.
Then later a man in his 30s died in a freak chainsaw accident in Cahir, Co Tipperary after trying to remove a tree downed by storm Ophelia, gardai said.
The death toll rose again when a man died when a tree fell on his car in Ravensdale, Dundalk.
Up to 120,000 homes were without power, schools have been closed, fallen trees blocked roads and bridges were shut after Hurricane Ophelia hit the UK mainland.
SOURCE: Amanda Devlin
The Sun
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