A Saharan dusting
| 16:59 UK time, Thursday, 28 June 2012
Temperatures at Hawarden in Flintshire reached 25C this afternoon - the warmest day of the month so far but it's going to turn cooler over the next 24 hours with more rain and showers on the way.
Earlier today it felt very humid and some parts of the country were hit by torrential rain and thunderstorms causing flash flooding in some places.
There have also been reports of strange covering cars and windows.
The dust is actually sand which has come all the way from the Sahara, blown our way by winds high in the atmosphere.
This does happen from time to time - a nuisance but completely harmless.
The humid, muggy air is now moving away and it will turn cooler over the next 24 hours with fresher Atlantic air. Low pressure will bring more rain and strong/ gusty winds too.
The weekend will be mixed and breezy with showers, heavy in places but Sunday should be better; more places dry with more sunshine and the wind easing.
Comment number 1.
At 29th Jun 2012, Mesosphere wrote:Yep, there's plenty of sand in the rain gauge this morning, Derek! A picture of the gauge, a swab and a microscope image here:
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