Thursday 5th March
The fog took all morning to clear on Wednesday. It wasn’t until just before noon that there was a distinct improvement, however, by 12.30 the sun was shining strongly with the visibility returning to normal. The afternoon sunshine was very welcome that lifted the temperature to a peak of 13.8C at 15.40. There was an almost steady drop in temperature, after the peak, resulting in a minimum of 2.3C at 07.14 early Thursday due to the lack of cloud. This minimum was 0.3C below average and the first below average minimum since 18th February.
Fog had again formed in the early hours of Thursday, due to the clear skies and lack of wind overnight, that at first limited visibility to 100m. Thankfully, although it was thicker than on Wednesday it was less dense vertically as by 08.00 there was evidence of the sun illuminating the fog and by 08.15 was shining strongly and by 08.30 just misty conditions, the visibility having improved significantly.
At the moment the high pressure to the east is holding back the advance of weather fronts to the west. Later today cloud will begin to encroach from the west leading to a cloudy day on Friday with depressed daytime temperatures.
More from the Saharan dust article. There is still a possibility that the dust might arrive over the UK today.
When Saharan dust mixes with rain it creates what is commonly known as blood rain.
Tiny dust particles suspended in the atmosphere are captured by raindrops and deposited onto surfaces leaving a thin, gritty, reddish-brown residue.
Part of England and Wales are expected to experience the most pronounced effects, as dust concentrations are forecast to be highest there due to the prevailing winds and the position of the high pressure.
The dust poses no health risk for most people, and any disruption is largely cosmetic.
The movement of Saharan dust to the UK is a natural and fairly frequent phenomenon.
These dust events usually occur a few times a year, most often in late winter and spring when southerly winds draw warm air north from the deserts of North Africa.