An unusual Saharan dust outbreak occurred on 20-24 February 2016 over the Iberian Peninsula. This work focuses on the particle vertical distribution investigated at four EARLINET AERONET stations: Granada, Évora, Burjassot and Barcelona. This event was exceptional because: (i) Saharan dust outbreaks over the Iberian Peninsula are atypical during wintertime,(ii) the aerosol optical depth reached high values (up ...