'Blood Rain' Might Fall on UK This Week Due to Massive Cloud of Saharan Dust

A surge of Saharan dust is expected to reach Britain later this week, perhaps resulting in 'blood rain' across portions of the country.

A massive cloud of Saharan dust is making its way over the Atlantic Ocean to the Caribbean, according to new satellite images from the European Space Agency (ESA).

Blood rain is said to occur when relatively large quantities of red-colored dust or particles combine with rain, giving it a red look as it falls.

Blood Rain Casts in London

(Photo : CHRIS JACKSON/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

According to the European Space Agency's Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS), the plume is projected to reach the Lesser Antilles and Puerto Rico on May 16 and 17, respectively, as per Dailymail.

The plume is also expected to impact the Iberian Peninsula and western Europe on May 20 and 21, with part of it reaching the South East of England on Friday morning.

It may also be combined with rain, which is also anticipated for Friday, so surface deposits on automobiles may form after the rain has gone.

The announcement comes after another massive plume struck Western Europe in mid-March, painting the sky an unsettling hue of orange and coating vehicles and windows in fine red dust.

According to CAMS scientists, this year has seen and continues to see higher-than-normal volumes moving over the Mediterranean and portions of Europe.

The supply of dust in the atmosphere is based on wind patterns over the Sahara, and this has been driving the sources of the occurrences we have been watching this year, Parrington explained.

The most active season is typically spring, but circumstances for Saharan dust movement have been favorable since the beginning of the year.

Dust plumes form when strong winds transport sand and other organic material from the deserts to the troposphere, the lowest layer of the Earth's atmosphere.

What is Blood Rain?

Blood rain is neither a meteorological nor scientific word; rather, it is a vernacular expression that dates back quite some time. Keeping this in mind, there is no one definition for the phrase, as per Met Office.

The forces that govern our weather may be pretty powerful and perform some unexpected things, like lifting sand or even tiny items and carrying them far distances.

High winds or thunderstorms can whip up dust and sand in the event of blood rain. When this goes airborne, it can become entangled in weather systems and be dragged for thousands of kilometers.

Normal blood rain, when the rain truly appears red, is rather unusual since it requires fairly significant concentrations of red dust/particles in the rain.

Cases that have been documented are few and far between. Monsoon rains fell with a crimson color that was dark enough to stain garments in the southern Indian state of Kerala in 2001.

During the same monsoon season, different colors of rain were reported, including green and yellow rain.

There are several other, far older accounts of blood rain, dating back to Homer's Iliad, an epic poem that depicts the siege of Troy and is considered to have been composed about the 8th century BC, and it was, predictably, seen as a terrible portent.

Every year, rain with some dust mixed in falls on various times throughout the United Kingdom. This often originates in the Sahara before combining with clouds and dropping out.

However, the dust we see is generally yellow or brown and in very low quantities, so the rain would appear normal. The only difference is that when the water has evaporated, you may see a tiny coating of dust on your car or windows.