Strong winds could bring orange Saharan dust to Scotland, forecasters have warned.
Storm Celia has moved towards the UK after bringing Saharan dust and travel disruption to southern Spain, the MET Office warned.
The dust is mainly being carried two kilometres above ground level but deposits of dust may begin to fall to the ground, especially during any rain.
It is expected the south of the UK will be affected the most by the dust as the storm front moves north.
We can see the #SaharanDust that has pushed across Spain and France, into southeast England
— Met Office (@metoffice) March 16, 2022
Whilst this #dust is mostly about 2km above ground level, some deposits may fall to the ground, especially during today's rain in southern parts of the UK pic.twitter.com/9mxfcnk8cv
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Richard Miles, of the Met Office, told the PA news agency: “Storm Celia over Spain is indeed pulling a dust cloud up from the Sahara, which could potentially reach as far as the south of the UK.
“However, we don’t expect significant impacts – the most likely would be on the cloudscapes at sunset, but as conditions are likely to be generally overcast and wet for much of the day this is unlikely to amount to much. There are no air quality warnings.
“People in the south might find a bit of dust left on their cars as the rain washes it out of the skies today.”
Wednesday is expected to be cloudy for most of England, Wales and eastern Scotland; with rain becoming heavier and more widespread later in the day in central and eastern areas.
Rain in England will then begin to clear as many regions turn cold, with patchy frost and some rural mist, the Met Office has said.
Showers, frost and fog will continue to hit parts of the UK for the rest of the week.
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