‘Freak April Weather’: Winds Could Cause Drivers to Lose Control of Their Cars, Skies Turn Orange, Finland Turns White
Orange-tined extreme smoke haze from Canadian wildfires as visible in New York City in June 2023
Mother Nature seemed to be having a moment at the start of the week.
On Monday, the National Weather Service issued wind advisories for seven states in the northern United States, warning motorists that the wind could be so severe that they may lose control of their vehicles.
“Sudden wind gusts can cause drivers to lose control, especially in lightweight or high profile vehicles. Strong winds can cause blowing dust, reduced visibility, and flying debris,” the NWS said in a special weather statement. “Winds this strong can make driving difficult, especially for high profile vehicles. Use extra caution.”
The seven states were Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota.
Meanwhile, across the Pond, the skies of Athens turned orange as a yellow-orange haze of dust from the Sahara desert blanketed parts of Greece.
While the weather event created spectacular scenes, it also prompted public health authorities to issue health warnings, especially for people with respiratory issues.
Greek Meteorologist Kostas Lagouvardos said that Athens looked like “a colony of Mars (sic)” in a statement posted on social media.
A low-pressure system over northern Africa swept dust over Cyprus several times in mid-April, “darkening skies and reducing air quality,” the he National Aeronautics and Space Administration said on Tuesday.
An image from NASA’s Terra satellite showed “a shroud of tan” over Cyprus on Monday. Dust was expected to continue to cross the Mediterranean, impacting both Cyprus and Greece over the next several days, the space agency said.
Just as Greece and Cyprus were turning orange, Finland turned white thanks to ”Huippu huhtikuun sää,” or “Freak April weather.”
Heavy snow there brought public transport to a standstill across many parts of the country, public broadcaster Yleisradio Oy reported.
(Photo: Accura Media Group)
