In early March 2004, a cold air outbreak from Europe to Western Africa caused a major dust storm over large parts of West Africa. On its travel southward, the cold air fanned out across the Sahara, highly diverging over subtropic regions giving the dust front the form of a spanish fan. In the following days, the dust was blown out across the Atlantic Ocean and reached the coast of South America. This 3 March 2004 Meteosat-8 SEVIRI image is a RGB (red green blue) composite of the phenomenon.