Dust and sand from storms in northern Africa carpet ski resorts in Russia and Romania

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This article is more than 1 year old

Dust from a sandstorm in the Sahara desert is causing snow in eastern Europe to turn orange, transforming mountainous regions of Ukraine, Russia, Bulgaria and Romania into Mars-like landscapes.

The unusual scenes are believed to be created by a mix of sand, dust and pollen particles stirred up and swept across from storms in northern Africa. According the meteorologists, the phenomenon occurs roughly every five years.

Valentyna Vashchenko (@ValentynaVashc2) Не удивляйтесь, это не пески, это снег в Сочи. pic.twitter.com/vTUuRPCeQY

Steven Keates, a weather forecaster at the UK’s Met Office, told the Independent:



“As the sand gets lifted to the upper levels of the atmosphere, it gets distributed elsewhere.

Red skies over London – in pictures Read more

“Looking at satellite imagery from Nasa, it shows a lot of sand and dust in the atmosphere drifting across the Mediterranean.”

Skiers and snowboarders posted photographs on Instagram and Twitter that showed eerie orange scenes.



An image captured at Russia’s Sochi ski resort, depicts unfazed skiers gliding down tangerine slopes under an orange-tinted sky.

Марс атакует 🌔 #smurygins_family_trip A post shared by Alina Smurygina (@sinyaya_ptiza) on Mar 23, 2018 at 11:55pm PDT

One person wrote “Martian landscape, Apocalypse Now.”



Another added: “Snowy slopes were transformed into barkhan dunes.”

It is not the first time eastern Europeans have experienced an eerie snow-tint.

A similar phenomenon happened in 2007 when mysterious “oily” orange snow fell across three regions of southern Siberia.</s>
• Russia and eastern Europe were blanketed with orange-tinted snow over the weekend.
• Storms in northern Africa picked up sand from the Sahara desert and blew it across Europe.
• The dust then mixed with snow and rain, turning the snow orange.



Parts of Russia and eastern Europe were blanketed with orange-tinted snow over the weekend after sand from the Sahara desert blew across Europe.

Storms in northern Africa picked up sand, dust, and pollen particles from the Sahara and blew them across the Mediterranean and Europe, The Independent reported. It then mixed with snow and rain in eastern Europe and Russia, turning the snow orange.

Skiers and snowboarders in Russia, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Moldova, and Romania posted photos of the surreal scenes on social media on Friday and Saturday. People in the region complained of sand in their mouths, the BBC reported.

The weather phenomenon happens every five years or so, and has previously occurred in other parts in the world, meteorologists said.

The same weather event also caused the skies in Greek island of Crete to turn orange on Thursday.

Take a look at the orange snow in Russia and eastern Europe:</s>Sand storms from the Sahara Desert mixed with rain in the atmosphere that's now falling as a blanket of orange snow across Eastern Europe.

Winter sports enthusiasts in Russia, Bulgaria, Romania and Ukraine were treated to a rare show over the weekend via a storm that traveled from Greece to Russia that was so big that it was seen from NASA space satellite imagery.

"The jet stream dipped southward across Europe and into northern Africa," AccuWeather meteorologist Eric Leister said. "This caused the storm track to also be farther south with a series of storms crossing the Mediterranean Sea. When the storm then tracked into parts of Eastern Europe and Russia, snow falling from the storm contained the dust from Africa, leaving the orange color."

The Athens Observatory called it one of the largest migrations of desert sand from the Sahara to Greece they've ever witnessed, with measured concentrations the highest recorded in the last 10 years.

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"We're skiing on Mars today," one social media user exclaimed in an Instagram video.

The otherworldly snowstorm happens about once every five years, according to the BBC.

It's not the first time colored snow fell from the sky. Pollen-mixed yellow snow reportedly fell in Bethlehem, Pa., according to USA Today. Orange snow fell in Siberia in 2007, Darwin once spotted red snow in the Andes Mountains and pink snow piled up in Alma, Colo. in 1895.</s>Dust from a sandstorm in the Sahara desert is causing snow in eastern Europe to turn orange, transforming the mountainous regions of Ukraine, Russia, Bulgaria and Romania into Mars-like landscapes, the media reported on Monday. The unusual scenes were believed to be created by a mix of sand, dust and pollen particles stirred up and swept across from storms in northern Africa, the Guardian reported. According to meteorologists, the phenomenon occurs roughly every five years. Steven Keates, a weather forecaster at the UK’s Met Office, told the Independent: “As the sand gets lifted to the upper levels of the atmosphere, it gets distributed elsewhere. “Looking at satellite imagery from NASA, it shows a lot of sand and dust in the atmosphere drifting across the Mediterranean.”

Skiers and snowboarders posted photographs on Instagram and Twitter that showed orange scenes. An image captured at Russia’s Sochi ski resort, depicts unfazed skiers gliding down tangerine slopes under an orange-tinted sky. One person wrote “Martian landscape, Apocalypse Now.”

It is not the first time eastern Europeans have experienced an eerie snow-tint, reports the Guardian. A similar phenomenon occurred in 2007 when mysterious “oily” orange snow fell across three regions of southern Siberia.</s>A weird orange snowstorm that Sochi scientists performed tests on hit Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, Russia and Moldova Saturday.

A freak snowstorm precipitated social media frenzy after snow appeared orange in at least five different Eastern European countries.

The unnatural downfall is due to desert storms in the Sahara blowing sand north and falls as rain, according to a Sochi Centre of Hydrometeorology and Monitoring of the Black and Azov Seas spokesperson, the U.K. Daily Mail reported.

This strange phenomenon happens about once every five years.

However, the sand concentrations are higher than usual, and locals complained about a sand taste in their mouths, according to the BBC.

“As the sand gets lifted to the upper levels of the atmosphere, it gets distributed elsewhere,” U.K. weather service Met Office’s Steven Keates told the Independent.

“Looking at satellite imagery from Nasa, it shows a lot of sand and dust in the atmosphere drifting across the Mediterranean,” Keates added.

Skiiers and snowboarders shared pictures of the bizarre snow visible in Sochi, Russia.

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A 2007 orange snowstorm fell in Siberia, which locals complained the foul-smelling orange snow felt oily when touched.

The snowstorm allegedly swept up dust and clay from Kazakhstan and redeposited it in Siberia, according to officials, the Independent reported.

A version of this article appeared on The Daily Caller News Foundation website.

What do you think? Scroll down to comment below.</s>Skiers and snowboarders in Sochi, Russia enjoyed a unique phenomenon this weekend, which allowed them a chance to ski on orange snow! No, aliens have nothing to do with it and neither is it a conspiracy. The occurrence has a perfectly reasonable explanation behind it.

It is a sandstorm, which blew across the Sahara Desert in North Africa and managed to give the white powdery layers an orange tint. The storm turned mountainous regions of Ukraine, Russia, Bulgaria and Romania into what snow dunes in Mars would probably look like.

"We're skiing on Mars today," said a user on social media as he skied down the slopes.

The sandstorm – that made its way through Greece up to Russia – was so big that NASA's satellite imagery could actually see and capture it.

The Athens Observatory also mentioned on Friday that this is one of the largest desert sand transfers from the Sahara to Greece ever.

The slopes that people can be seen skiing down are believed to be composed of sand, dust and pollen particles that were stirred up and swept across from northern Africa, in a phenomenon which meteorologists believe, happens every five years.

Due to the dust, which seemed to have covered the entire country, with concentrations highest in the last 10 years, there was limited visibility for people who tried to make their way down the slopes in Sochi.

Steven Keates, a weather forecaster at the UK's Met Office, told The Independent: "As the sand gets lifted to the upper levels of the atmosphere, it gets distributed elsewhere. Looking at satellite imagery from Nasa, it shows a lot of sand and dust in the atmosphere drifting across the Mediterranean."

People visiting the area filled up social media with photos and videos of the unusual occurrence, displaying the tangerine slopes that certain others seemd to believe were indications of an apocalypse soon approaching!

Another added: "Snowy slopes were transformed into barkhan dunes."

But this is not the first time Russia is seeing orange snow. Back in 2007, a similar phenomenon had occurred where mysterious "oily" orange snow fell and covered across three regions of southern Siberia.

People living in those regions had complained of how foul-smelling and oily to the touch that snow was. It was also linked to possible chemical pollution.

But this time it's different; and also only fair, since in 2016, it snowed in the Sahara for the first time since 1979 - and was followed up again by snow in the desert in December, 2017 and January of this year.</s>People in a number of countries in eastern Europe experienced an unusual weather event over the weekend: orange snow.

BBC reports the phenomenon appeared to affect areas of countries including Russia, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Romania and Moldova.

Steven Keates of the UK's Met Office told The Independent that the phenomenon of orange snow is feasible, and likely a result of sand from the Sahara.

He explained: “There has been a lot of lifted sand or dust originating from North Africa and the Sahara, from sand storms which have formed in the desert. As the sand gets lifted to the upper levels of the atmosphere, it gets distributed elsewhere."

He added that NASA satellite imagery showed sand and dust in the atmosphere, explaining: "When it rains or snows, it drags down whatever is up there, if there is sand in the atmosphere.”

Orange snow was reported in Siberia in 2007, with locals describing a "pronounced rotten smell" - with some theorising pollutants may have been the cause in that case.</s>Eastern Europe has been given an apocalyptic make-over after orange-tinted snow was spotted in several countries.

The colourful snow was spotted in Russia, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Romania and Moldova on Friday.

Meteorologists say the phenomenon is caused by sand from desert storms mixing with snow and rain – in this case dust from the Sahara Desert.

Margarita Alshina posted photos from Sochi, Russia, which was home to the 2014 Winter Olympics.

The ski slope at The Rosa Khutor Resort is seen covered in a fine orange dust.

A spokesperson for The Met Office said that the phenomenon had happened before.

He said: “There has been a lot of lifted sand or dust originating from North Africa and the Sahara, from sand storms which have formed in the desert.

“As the sand gets lifted to the upper levels of the atmosphere, it gets distributed elsewhere… When it rains or snows, it drags down whatever is up there, if there is sand in the atmosphere.”</s>Bizarre orange colored snow has wafted across many northern hemisphere countries leaving residents terrified about what the cause may be.

Cities around Russia, Ukraine, Bulgaria and Romania have all reported the strange orange snow phenomenon, with ski resorts and other tourist destinations all blanketed by it.

It is unclear what caused the orange snow with speculation ranging from pollution to a nearby sandstorm.

According to the Express: Scientists have blamed the eerie snow tint, which varied from light yellow to intense orange and even brown, on a mix of sand and pollen.

Experts from the Sochi Centre of Hydrometeorology and Monitoring of the Black and Azov Seas were sent to test the strange sight yesterday.

A spokesman for the centre said the cause of the phenomenon was likely winds carrying sand from the Sahara, which then fell as rain.

However, they also predicted that things will be back to normal within days.

A similar incident that took place in Siberia in 2007. Russia’s environmental watchdog at that time said the snow was reported to be “malodorous, oily and contain four times the normal level of iron”.

Could it be a chemtrail attack on millions of innocent people? Is it poisonous? or is it just ‘desert sand’ wafting over?</s>Mountainous areas of eastern Europe have been covered with 'orange snow'.

Eerie images posted by skiers on social media show what could almost be scenes from Mars.

The fluffy white stuff has changed colour because of dust from a sandstorm in the Sahara desert.

Pictures of the phenomenon have been posted on social media from Russia, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Romania and Moldova.

Sky News weather presenter Isabel Lang said it was caused by "stormy conditions across north Africa and a favourable southerly airflow at higher levels drawing dust and sand over the eastern Mediterranean and up across eastern Europe".

One Instagram user, iriedawtaa, described it as "epic" and "phenomenal".

Snowboard and ski instructor in the Russian city of Sochi, Ksusha Knopik, said it was "wonderful" and "beautiful".
An anomalous weather event caused due to dust from a sandstorm in the Sahara, leads to an orange snow blanketing several Eastern European countries, including Ukraine, Bulgaria, Romania and Russia. This weather event happens roughly every five years; a similar event occurred in Siberia in 2007.