World

Orange Snowstorms Hits Five European Countries

Panoramic view of the snow-capped mountains and the Argentino lake, at Parque Nacional Los Glaciares near El Calafate, in the Argentine province of Santa Cruz, on March 12, 2018. An arch of ice formed at the tip of the Perito Moreno, between the glacier and the shore of Argentino lake collapsed into the water overnight. A natural display that happens just once every several years. Such arches form roughly every two to four years, when the glacier forms a dam of ice that cuts off the flow of water around it into the lake -- until the water breaks through, opening up a steadily wider tunnel that eventually becomes a narrow arch and then collapses. / AFP PHOTO / WALTER DIAZ | Weird Orange Snowstorms Hit Europe

AFP PHOTO / WALTER DIAZ

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Gabrielle Okun Reporter
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A weird orange snowstorm hit Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, Russia and Moldova, which Sochi scientists performed tests on 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 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,” UK 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.

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.

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