Householders and motorists in Kerry, particularly in the greater Killarney area, woke up this morning to find their windows and windscreens covered with a thick layer of dust, almost red in colour, which is sticking to the glass.
Many members of the public were left mystified by the bizarre development but it appears it has been predicted by some astute weather watchers and it has come all the way from the Sahara.
It is due to high pressure over central Europe and the heavy shower occurs when strong winds blow from south to south west, whipping up clouds of dust and carrying it in gusts.
A heavy downpour of rain that fell before and again shortly after 6 o’clock on Tuesday evening saw Saharan dust rain down on Kerry and linger overnight on several substances.
Some people that had been out walking or jogging on Tuesday afternoon and were caught in a heavy hailstone shower complained that the dust had left marks on their clothing that were difficult to remove.
The term used to describe the dust is “blood rain” given that there is a distinct red hue to the dust and rain.
Predicting that it would happen, one forecaster advised those that had washed their car or windows last weekend that they will more than likely have to do it again this coming weekend due to the fall of Saharan dust.
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