Rare orange snow phenomenon seen in Europe

RUSSIA (FOX 13) - The ski slopes in eastern Europe looked more like the desert dunes than white, powdery snow.

Rare orange snow blanketed mountains in Ukraine, Russia and Bulgaria. The strange sight resulted from sand blown up into the atmosphere due to storms in the Sahara Desert, according to National Geographic. Winds and pressure systems allow the dust to mix with snow and rain, then fall from skies over Europe.

"Last week the jet stream dipped southward across Europe and into northern Africa. This caused the storm track to also be farther south with a series of storms crossing the Mediterranean Sea," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Eric Leister said.

The phenomenon occurs every five years.