A massive sandstorm left an eerie orange glow over parts of Europe in mid-March, 2022 (Credit: Riverford/Facebook)

A massive plume of dust and sand from the Sahara Desert engulfed parts of Europe in mid-March. Storm Celia blew into Spain on March 14, 2022, turning the skies into an eerie rusty orange and covering the ground and vehicles with fine sand particles. The thick dust layer lingered for several days, causing officials to issue extremely poor air quality ratings in the capital city of Madrid and across large parts of Spain's southeast coast.