A Spanish weather forecaster is warning residents that “blood rain” will coat cars, windows and buildings over the next couple of days. Blood rain is an unusual but natural phenomenon which gives rain a reddish hue, not because of actual blood, but because of the presence of dust or sand particles in the atmosphere.
Strong winds can lift dust and sand from deserts, like the Sahara, into the atmosphere, meaning that when rain falls, it picks up these dust particles, giving the rain a reddish tint as it falls. This discoloured rain will result from a cloud of dust from Africa merging with a storm moving into western Europe later this week.
Speaking exclusively to the Express, Jason Nicholls, lead international forecaster for AccuWeather, says the rain will primarily fall in southern Spain and southern Portugal.
Rain levels could reach up to three inches (75 mm), drenching popular holiday hotspots just a week before Easter and at the start of the summer season, throwing holiday plans into chaos.
Mr Nicholls said: “Low pressure moving toward the Canary Islands will pull Saharan Dust into southern Spain and southern Portugal starting Thursday.
“As the low moves closer to the Iberian Peninsula rain will fall through the dust resulting in a reddish tint to the rain or blood rain across southern Spain and southern Portugal from Thursday afternoon or evening into Saturday.
“It looks like rain amounts in the area will generally total 0.50-1.25 inches (13-32 mm) but local amounts can be up to 3 inches (75 mm).”
The dust in the rain droplets will also coat car windows, pavements and residents are warned that opening windows could allow for the reddish hue to come inside people’s homes.
“The deposit of dust from the rain will coat cars, windows and buildings”, says Jason.
He added: “I could see issues driving as dust can coating car windows and reducing visibility.
Opening windows could also be problematic as it could allow a dust coating inside.
“Even before the rain arrives the Saharan dust will result in poor air quality.”
And it’s not just the colour of the rain that will be different as the sky may also appear orange or tan in color, giving an eerie appearance to anyone venturing outside in the dirty rain.
Throughout March Spain grappled with heavy rainfall, flooding and strong winds. Some cities in Andalusia, such as Córdoba, reached over 300 liters per square meter in about twenty days. This amount is double the usual amount for spring as a whole.