In pictures: Salt and Saharan sands turn seaside skies pink and purple

A red sky appears when dust and small particles are trapped in the atmosphere by high pressure

Spectacular sunrises have lit up the early morning skies on the North Yorkshire coast for the past few days.

The pink and purple panoramas have been captured by BBC Weather Watchers in Scarborough, Fylingthorpe and Filey.

BBC Weather presenter Keeley Donovan said a combination of Saharan sand and salt from the sea were behind the meteorological phenomenon.

But, will the vibrant vistas fall foul of the old saying 'red sky in the morning, shepherd's warning'?

As light interacts with atmosphere particles it gets scattered, enabling us to see certain colours more vividly

"We tend to get more vivid colours at sunrise and sunset because the sun is low in the sky and therefore the light travels further, and through more atmosphere," Keeley said.

"The blue light gets scattered away leaving more of the reds and yellows for us to see.

"Over the last week or so extra particles in the atmosphere could have enhanced the colours.

"For example earlier in the week there was some Saharan dust about and, after a number of Atlantic low pressure systems affected us, salt from the sea could have been suspended in the atmosphere.

"Salt particles are quite large so the light is scattered considerably leading to purple and pink colours.

"There has also been mid and high-level cloud rather than full cloud cover which would've prevented the beautiful scenes.

"It's also likely that now the sun is rising earlier more of us were up and about to see the sunrise."

Saharan sand and sea salt are responsible for skies like this over Fylingthorpe

A low sun means light travels further, scattering blue light and leaving colours from the redder end of the spectrum

But are the glorious sunrises a hint of stormy days ahead?

Keeley said: "This weather folklore is most reliable in the UK, because our prevailing wind direction is west to southwesterly, meaning our weather typically arrives from the Atlantic. But not always."