An enormous Saharan dust storm has blanketed the southeast US.
The brown plume, which is so vast it can be seen via satellite imagery from space, is predicted to remain in place throughout the weekend after its arrival from across the Atlantic.
The hazy mass, which has travelled a distance of 8,047 km from North Africa, hovered over Florida on Friday, nine.com.au reports.
High concentrations of dust were also found in Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi.
The dust is expected to eventually stretch from Texas to South Carolina, with a smaller amount even potentially reaching the Midwest.
Watching the phenomenon from the city of Flagler Beach, CNN meteorologist Brandon Miller said: "No clouds or fog, just atmospheric dust creating the haze. You can't even see the horizon."
Experts have nicknamed the once-in-50-year weather event the “Godzilla dust cloud”, and authorities in its path have issued health warnings.
Because of the distance the dust has travelled, most of its larger particles have fallen away along the way, according to CNN.
This means that what is left are smaller PM2.5 particles, which pose more of a risk to lungs.
The dry air could also mean hotter than usual temperatures, the Weather Prediction Centre has warned.
"The main impacts of the Saharan dust will be hazy skies during the day, locally reduced visibility, and degraded air quality," the forecaster said.
"However, this could also make for some very colourful sunrises and sunsets with deeper oranges and reds compared to normal."
The huge mass is due to a number of smaller storms which have developed over central and west Africa, causing downdrafts and dust storms to develop.
At the same time, a weak African Easterly Jet has left much more dust than usual accumulating off the continent's west coast.
