RED SKY AT NIGHT - HEAD TO THE CAR WASH IN THE MORNING

Many in Salford have awoken to find their cars and garden furniture covered in what appears to be a light covering of dust this morning, meaning the local car washes will be doing a fair bit of business in the next few days.

So what was the cause? 

Was it those pesky aliens again? Maybe a plot by a dark sinister government to use jet planes to seed some mystery substance for nefarious purposes? Was Tony Flynn burning tyres at the back of Lidl again?

Well, despite what some may claim, the signs were evident off in the distance the evening before, as Salford enjoyed yet another spectacular red sunset the usually yellow orb sank towards the horizon, a result of the suns light being bent by dust particles being trapped in the upper atmosphere. 

The source of the dust was not local, far from it, in fact it came from as far afield as the vast Saharan Desert which covers most of North Africa. A common and well known phenomenon which occurs to varying degrees a number of times each year.

The area has seen strong winds in recent weeks and those gusts can blow dust and sand grains high into the atmosphere where they travel north with the heated air from the equator, this time as far as the UK.

As the dust inevitably mixes with moisture in the atmosphere it makes the droplets large enough to fall as rain, carrying the dust along with it.

Sadly as the grains are sharp and course, it can cause damage to paintwork if left on the vehicle as it acts as an abrasive. So best to clean it off as soon as possible.