Mystery debris?

[Bo’sunParticipant @bosun58570]

Hello All,

I live in South Essex, and around ten days ago I noticed lots of small specks on my car, which I assumed at the time to be some sort of airborne seed casings, so I just brushed them off.  The following day they were back again, albeit not quite as many.  On closer inspection, they are small gritty lumps 3 – 4mm across (not unlike specks of mud).  This time I washed them off, not wanting to damage the paintwork.  I’ve also noticed them on the north side of our conservatory, and the back doors of my neighbours van (that also faces north).  Up until now they are still appearing, but only a few at a time.

Also, while collecting this sample, one of the pieces was damp (so I guess it had just appeared) and it smeared across the paper used to collect the sample.

I’ve contacted the Met Office, but they have no suggestions and indicated no reports of “Sahara dust”.  And my local authority were no help (no surprise there).

I’ve also contacted the Environment Agency but still await their response.

Any ideas or thoughts as to what they might be and where they’ve come from?  Or whom else I could contact?

I’ve tried to upload an image of said debris, but the forum doesn’t seem to like msg files.  Unless anyone out there knows if there’s a way?

[BazyleParticipant @bazyle]

Heath fires in Suffolk on the news. Possible debris being washed out of the sky by high altitude rain that itself mostly evaporates before it reaches the ground.
The Sahara dust only appears with prolonged southerly winds and I think it has been mostly northwesterly of late.

[Dave HalfordParticipant @davehalford22513]

I’ve had that when geese fly over my car from the local lake, which is about 1/2 a mile away

[howardbParticipant @howardb]

Dust from the Sahara is usually orange in colour, if we get a heavy dose of it here in NW France it turns the sky a weird orange colour, and the cars need a hose off, which we can’t do ATM as hose use is banned.

[not done it yetParticipant @notdoneityet]

What goes up, must eventually come down.  Lots of conflagrations where the ash and particles are being carried high into the sky (some moving/spreading the fire front, by virtue of being flying embers).

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