SUSSEX was bathed in a red glow yesterday as Storm Ophelia made its presence known.

It is thought the remnants of Hurricane Ophelia dragged tropical air and dust from the Sahara, which turned the sky a strange red.

It was so dark in Brighton and Hove that streetlights switched on, with automatic sensors thinking it was nighttime.

Matt Howell, 22, from Hove, joked that it was like “Armageddon” when he stepped outside his house at around 3pm.

The student said: “It is really fascinating to see and I have just been researching to find out exactly what the experts think it is.

“There was an almost red and yellow tint to the sky which I don’t think I have ever seen before.”

Tracy Ash, 52, from Brighton, said: “When I came out in the afternoon I saw the sun was a strange colour.

“I always come out and take photographs and thought this looked really strange, so I wanted to come and take some pictures.

“I think it is fantastic to come and see and it makes a big difference to the light outside.

“It is great to see people’s faces when they are clearly shocked and their jaws seem to drop.

“The colour is fascinating and it is strange how dark it got so early in the day.”

University of Brighton students and staff gathered on campus during their lunch breaks to look at the phenomenon with one student remarking “It looks like we’ve been Tango’d.”

Retired Trevor Bolton, from Southwick, said: “When I first saw the colours in the sky, I said to my wife this is a very strange sight.

“I said don’t tell me this is the end of the world coming.

“I was quite surprised and my initial response was to try and find out the cause of it.

“The damage caused in Ireland by the weather was really bad yesterday.

“I am relieved that it wasn’t so serious for us.”

The storm moved across to Wales, northern England and Scotland throughout the day. Although the storm’s winds did not reach Sussex, the red sky was seen across the county.

Three people were reported killed as The Argus went to press last night.

A man died in Ravensdale, Dundalk, Ireland, after a tree struck the car. Earlier, a man in his 30s was killed in a chainsaw accident as he tried to remove a fallen tree in Cahir, Co Tipperary, and a woman in her mid 50s died when her car was hit by a tree near the village of Aglish in Waterford.

Scores of homes were left without power, schools closed early, trees fell on to roads and bridges were shut on the UK mainland.

Prime Minister Theresa May spoke to Irish counterpart Leo Varadkar on Monday afternoon to offer support to affected areas.

A Downing Street spokesman said: “On Storm Ophelia, the Prime Minister expressed her sympathies for the loss of life and said the UK Government stood ready to provide any support if requested.”

Last night flood warnings remained in place along the Pembrokeshire coast, parts of west Scotland, north-west England, Cornwall and Dorset.

SAHARAN DUST AND FOREST FIRES IN SOUTHERN EUROPE BEHIND PHENOMENON

IT MAY have looked like something from a Hollywood disaster movie but weather experts had a perfectly good explanation for yesterday’s dramatic sky.

BBC weather presenter Simon King said it was caused by Storm Ophelia dragging in tropical air and dust from the Sahara.

He said that debris from forest fires in Portugal and Spain also played a part.

The dust, he said, had caused shorter wavelength blue light to be scattered, making it appear red.

He said: “Ophelia originated in the Azores where it was a hurricane and as it tracked its way northwards it dragged in tropical air from the Sahara.

“This meant dust from the Sahara was brought with it.

“The dust gets picked up in the air and goes high up into the atmosphere, and that dust has been dragged high up above the UK.”

Met Office forecaster Grahame Madge agreed with the assessment.

He said: “It’s all connected to Ophelia. On the eastern side of the low pressure system air is coming up in the southern direction.

“Air is being pulled from southern Europe and Africa and that air contains a lot of dust. So it’s most likely the appearance of sunset at midday is caused by the particles scattering the light and giving the appearance of a red sun. It’s certainly spectacular.”

Those with asthma were warned to stay indoors for fear the Saharan dust could affect their breathing.

Sonia Munde, head of the helpline at Asthma UK, said: “We are deeply concerned about the toxic air from Saharan dust that Storm Ophelia has churned up, as this could pose a severe risk to the 5.4 million people in the UK who have asthma.

“Winds picking up dust and particles in the air could trigger potentially fatal asthma attacks.”

There were also concerns for airline passengers with several flights diverted after “smoke smells” were reported on board.

EasyJet said four of its flights were diverted due to “atmospheric circumstances”.

A British Airways spokeswoman said the carrier has had “some reports of smells on board” but the aircraft continued to their destinations.

An easyJet spokeswoman said: “EasyJet can confirm that four of its flights flying in the west of the UK have reported smoke smells in the cockpit today, believed to be linked to atmospheric circumstances due to storm Ophelia.

“Two flights returned shortly after take-off and two flights requested an expedited landing as a precaution only.

“We understand other airlines have experienced similar events and we continue to liaise with the Met Office as to the likely cause.

“The safety and welfare of our passengers and crew is easyJet’s highest priority. We would like to apologise for any inconvenience experienced by the diversions.”

BA said in a statement: “The safety of our customers and crew is always our priority.

“Our flights have been operating and landing normally, but we have been liaising with the Met Office about atmospheric conditions.”

The Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland suffered the worst of the storm with three people declared dead as The Argus went to press last night.

Around 360,000 homes and businesses were without power last night and all schools in Northern Ireland and the Republic will remain closed today.

ESB, the Republic of Ireland’s electricity network, warned that more outages were expected and that repairs would take several days.

Wales was also hit by the storm with around 200 properties suffering power cuts. A number of schools closed early and the Cleddau Bridge was shut to high-sided vehicles, Pembrokeshire County Council said.

Last night flood warnings were in place along the Pembrokeshire coast, parts of western Scotland, north-west England, Cornwall and Dorset.

The Prime Minister expressed her sympathies for the loss of life across the Irish Sea and said the UK Government stood ready to provide support.