If you were outside in the valley Friday, you probably saw it: the haze.
A cloud of a brown haze, overshadowing the East Tennessee mountains, covered what should've been a nice day.
"We were looking outside and wondering, 'what's going on?'" said Connie Helms of Powell, outside the Car Wash Clinic on Clinton Highway.
Gusty winds spread a strong dust storm from Oklahoma, according to the National Weather Service. Meteorologists said signs of this storm could be seen all the way to southwestern Virginia, with Knoxville in its path.
As a result, Helms' car was one of the 275+ vehicles that went through that location Friday afternoon. Managers blame the dust storm-caused haze to be the catalyst for this jump in business.
"It's probably increased 20-30%" said Travis Smith with Car Wash Clinic. "I noticed earlier, I looked over at the horizon, and you can see it's getting dusty outside. That's when I assumed that was what's going on."
Car washes were not the only businesses busy Friday because of this haze. Allergy doctors also saw an increase in calls.
"Our main office in Weisgarber has been picking up calls about the dust and haze from Oklahoma," said Karla Jones with the Allergy Asthma and Sinus Center.
"When we're talking about inside dust, we're talking about dust mites as an allergen. Outside dust, that's an irritant that can trigger the same kind of symptoms that allergies can," she added.
There have not been any medical problems reported to the Knox County Health Department because of the haze, as of Friday afternoon.
The only thing this phenomenon has caused is inconvenience and curiosity.
"This is very strange," Connie Helms laughed.