Red sun in the UK

[Jenn]

When I left work this afternoon I was astonished to see the sun was blood Red. It was also really windy and the atmosphere felt very strange. Apparently it's due to hurricane Ophelia bringing dust from the Saharan desert.

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/uk-england-41635906

[quote author= BBC] An "unusual" reddish sky and red-looking sun have been reported across parts of England.

The phenomenon has been seen in the South West, West Midlands, North West and North East.

BBC weather presenter Simon King said it was due to the remnants of Hurricane Ophelia dragging in tropical air and dust from the Sahara.

The dust has caused light to be refracted and reflected in longer wavelengths, making it appear red.

He said: "Ophelia originated in the Azores where it was a hurricane and as it tracked its way northwards it dragged in tropical air from the Sahara."

This meant dust from the Sahara was brought with it, he said.

"The dust gets picked up into the air and goes high up into the atmosphere, and that dust has been dragged high up in the atmosphere above the UK," Mr King explained.

"Because the dust is so high, light from the sun is scattered in the longer wavelengths, which is more the red part of the spectrum, so it appears red to our eyes."
[/quote]

 

[Ant22]

When I left work this afternoon I was astonished to see the sun was blood Red. It was also really windy and the atmosphere felt very strange. Apparently it's due to hurricane Ophelia bringing dust from the Saharan desert.

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/uk-england-41635906

(...)

I noticed this too Jenn, thanks for sharing! The day has been very warm in London today, 22 degrees Celsius, which is unusual for mid October. There's this surreal feeling to the atmosphere and although the sun isn't visible due to clouds, the entire sky has a strange orange shade to it.

My colleagues were taking pictures of the sky when I walked into their office and they commented on how weird it was - and still is actually. I've just come back from a walk and it's quite warm outside - but windy. The dry leaves combined with "short sleeve" weather and the weird colour of the sky create a really unusual atmosphere.

It's actually very pretty but it does give me creeps!

 

[Gawan]

Thanks for sharing. I can imagine that it looked strange and beautiful. Who knows what else is going on the atmosphere maybe the dust load from comets and other objects from the space gets more and more and does more weird stuff to the atmosphere.

 

[Peam]

There's this surreal feeling to the atmosphere and although the sun isn't visible due to clouds, the entire sky has a strange orange shade to it.

I noticed the orange sky too and felt the same surreal feeling, and guessed it had something to do with Ophelia. I went outside later for a smoke and saw the dark orange sun.

 

[Ellipse]

What surprise me, is that in Nord of France, we do not have the wind, only the heat.

 

[Ca.]

Thanks for sharing. I can imagine that it looked strange and beautiful. Who knows what else is going on the atmosphere maybe the dust load from comets and other objects from the space gets more and more and does more weird stuff to the atmosphere.

I think your correct with atmospheric loading of higher altitude particulates. Definitely must be seeing some volcanic dust as well i would assume.
Took the one below slightly digitized.

And a second one i can only describe as having a Turquoise hue. But the limitations of digital did not bring out the true colors i witnessed.

Thanks Jenn and everyone for sharing your observations.

Viewing the Orionids in 2017- Oct 14, 2017
https://www.amsmeteors.org/2017/10/viewing-the-orionids-in-2017/-
The Orionids, like all meteor showers, are named after the constellation in which they appear to come from, which in this case is Orion. Remnants from this shower come from Halley's Comet, officially designated 1P/Halley.

 

[Ca.]

And a second one i can only describe as having a Turquoise hue. But the limitations of digital did not bring out the true colors i witnessed.

EUMETSAT Summer Solstice 2017
Uploaded on June 21, 2017
https://www.flickr.com/photos/eumetsat/34602749754/in/dateposted/

06:24 today marked the 2017 summer solstice, as seen in this image from EUMETSAT's Meteosat-10 geostationary satellite.

 

[Ant22]

Looks like Ophelia wasn't just a pretty face, it was also deadly for some:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41627442

Two men and a woman have been killed as the remnants of Hurricane Ophelia hit the British Isles.

As hurricane-force gusts battered the Republic of Ireland, one woman and a man died in separate incidents when trees fell on their cars.
A second man died in a chainsaw accident while attempting to remove a tree felled by the storm.

Thousands of homes and businesses lost power in Northern Ireland and Wales, along with 360,000 in the Republic.
The power company Northern Ireland Electricity said 15,000 households in the province should prepare to spend Monday night without power.

Police in Scotland say the storm has hit Dumfries and Galloway and it is forecast to continue over the region into the evening.
And in Cumbria, police in Barrow closed roads around Barrow AFC's stadium after wind damaged its roof.

Cumbria Police said it was dealing with "numerous incidents" related to the high winds, which reached up to 70mph in the area.
The force had received reports of roofs and debris on the roads and overhead cables which had come down and it was urging people to only make essential travel.

In Wales, roads and railway lines have been closed and a gust of 90mph was recorded in Aberdaron, Gwynedd.
The Welsh Ambulance service said a woman has been injured after being hit by a falling branch in Wrexham.

'Stay indoors'

In Ireland, the woman, in her 50s, died near Aglish, County Waterford, and a female passenger, in her 70s, was injured.
Her injuries were not believed to be life-threatening, the Gardai, Ireland's police force, said.
One of the men died near Dundalk, Co Louth, after his car was struck by a tree at about 14:45 BST, the Gardai said.
The other man, in his 30s, was killed in Cahir, Co Tipperary.

All road users were urged to stay indoors and not travel unless their journey was absolutely necessary.

Flights were also disrupted as several UK planes were forced to land or divert after reports of a "smoke smell" linked to weather conditions.

BBC Weather said the strongest winds recorded so far were at Roches Point, near Cork in the Republic of Ireland, where they reached 97mph.

Ireland's meteorological service said its highest gust was 109mph at Fastnet Rock.

The Met Office's amber warning for Northern Ireland, western Wales and western parts of Scotland is still in force for wind.
Forecasters are predicting that the far south-west of Scotland will see winds of 80mph on Monday evening, followed by 60mph gusts over Glasgow and the central belt in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

The main danger facing Scottish commuters in the morning would be debris on roads, they said.

Other parts of the UK have seen unseasonably warm temperatures.

And skies have turned red and yellow as Ophelia drags dust from the Sahara through the atmosphere.

 

[Gary]

As well as sand from the Sahara, there was a lot of particles from the raging wildfires in Portugal and Spain carried by strong winds that contributed to the eerie red sky yesterday. There has been a lot of volcanic eruptions recently too adding to debris in the atmosphere.

https://www.sott.net/article/364638-Dust-from-Sahara-and-fires-in-Portugal-turn-UK-sky-an-eerie-red


When I stepped outside yesterday morning in the UK midlands observing the reddish sun and orange sky, it was quite ethereal and a very strange experience. For a while it was perfectly still and seemed 'other-worldly' almost. As Jenn and Ant22 mentioned also, many people I spoke to noted a weird sensation.

It felt surreal and disturbing to me, like the 'calm before the storm'. Although we had the remnants of Hurricane Ophelia later in the day, I have a strong feeling that a major earth change / geopolitical event is imminent. Has anyone else been having similar feelings recently?

 

[Palinurus]

Same phenomenon in the Netherlands today (seven pics):

https://nltimes.nl/2017/10/17/hurricane-ophelia-spain-forest-fires-turns-sun-fireball-orange-netherlands-skies

 

[Skyfarmr]

Thanks for sharing.
I wonder if the cranberry red precipitate that accumulates on the insides of our white rain barrel is "Saharan dust" or combination of other particulates in air. We're in the upper Midwest US, so it would be a long way to travel. Have noticed it for quite a few years already. Garden plants don't seem to mind it.

 

[Palinurus]

It's difficult to say exactly since there are so many potential sources of atmospheric dust nowadays (deserts, volcanoes, comets and meteors, wildfires and so on) but it's a known fact that all those particles can travel great distances when caught in the jet stream, like this one for instance:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2302322/Sandstorm-China-ends-California-west-coast-wakes-hazy-skies-clouded-sand-Gobi-Desert-6000-miles-away.html

 

[Nević Nenad]

I'm risking to sound strange now, but isn't it normal for Sun to look like that at the dusk? It is usual look of Sun for the dusk time, at least where I live. There are some variations, but it goes from dark yellow to red.

http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/60042753.jpg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVqptWcxVh4

 

[Palinurus]

You're right. Only this wasn't dusk or dawn but mid afternoon (in the UK) and mid morning (in the Netherlands) with unusual dusty, misty and cloudy skies.

 

[Ant22]

(...) When I stepped outside yesterday morning in the UK midlands observing the reddish sun and orange sky, it was quite ethereal and a very strange experience. For a while it was perfectly still and seemed 'other-worldly' almost. As Jenn and Ant22 mentioned also, many people I spoke to noted a weird sensation.

It felt surreal and disturbing to me, like the 'calm before the storm'. Although we had the remnants of Hurricane Ophelia later in the day, I have a strong feeling that a major earth change / geopolitical event is imminent. Has anyone else been having similar feelings recently?

I can certainly relate Anam Cara! I was thinking about it today and I find it interesting how sensitive we are to such small changes to the sky. Well, given what's on the cards for us we are going to have tons of fun! I also had that "calm before the storm" feeling (despite strong wind) and initially I thought that it was just my own imagination triggered by awareness of the Wave approaching. But people around me also noticed that and they know nothing about the events ahead of us.

The interesting part for me was that although it was a strange experience it did have a noticeable element of excitement to it too.

I'm risking to sound strange now, but isn't it normal for Sun to look like that at the dusk? It is usual look of Sun for the dusk time, at least where I live. There are some variations, but it goes from dark yellow to red.

http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/60042753.jpg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVqptWcxVh4

Hi Avala, it's quite hard to describe the difference between normal orange shade to the sky at sunset and the colour of the sky yesterday, but it certainly did look - and feel - different. And, well, weird. :)

The images you shared do look like a normal sunset here too and if the sky yesterday had looked like this I don't think we would have noticed anything unusual. To begin with, it was the strangeness of the colour of the sun that prompted Jenn to look into the reasons for it. Otherwise she'd have posted that she was curious about the colour of the sun at dusk in general.

You're right. Only this wasn't dusk or dawn but mid afternoon (in the UK) and mid morning (in the Netherlands) with unusual dusty, misty and cloudy skies.

Exactly. It was around 3pm when I first noticed it and although London experiences a lot of cloudy weather there was a difference between the phenomenon yesterday and regular cloudy skies.