UAE weather: Heavy rain with thunder and lightning hit parts of country

A yellow and orange alert has been issued across the country for convective clouds

Published: Thu 29 Feb 2024, 7:38 AM

Updated: Thu 29 Feb 2024, 9:44 AM

By
Web Desk

Photo: Screengrab from Storm Centre, KT Photo by Meher Dhanjal

It has been pouring heavily in parts of UAE from Wednesday night through early Thursday, resulting in overflowing wadis and recorded instances of lightning and thunder by the National Centre of Meteorology.

Rains lashed Al Ain, drenching roads as cars splashed through the water. Weather-related social media account, Storm Centre took to Twitter to share several videos of the unstable weather conditions from last night. According to the Met Department, parts of Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Fujairah also experienced rainfall with varying intensity.

The UAE's disaster management team (NCEMA) urged the public to exercise caution, abide by safety requirements, and follow the instructions of relevant authorities to secure their vehicles, especially in areas prone to heavy rain and hail. They warned the public away from watercourses and floods, as well as avoiding rugged areas such as mountains.

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Watch the rain videos below:

Twitter

The Abu Dhabi Police issued a hailstorm alert for Al Ain and forecast light to heavy rain in parts of Abu Dhabi. Drivers were advised to follow safety measures during the adverse weather conditions.

Earlier, the NCM had said in a report that the country will be under the influence of a surface low-pressure system from the Southwest, along with an extension of an upper-air low-pressure system. These systems will be accompanied by a western Jetstream, leading to varying amounts of cloud cover moving from the West intermittently.

Thursday weather report

On Thursday, the weather will be partly cloudy to cloudy, the National Centre of Meteorology has said. Convective clouds will cause rainfall over scattered areas of the country, it added.

Light to moderate winds will blow, becoming fresh to strong over the sea, causing blowing dust and sand which will reduce horizontal visibility.

A yellow and orange alert has been issued across the country for convective clouds. The advisory says, "A chance of convective cloud formation [which will be] associated with rainfall and fresh wind[s] with a speed of 40 km/hr from 12.30am until 10.30pm on Thursday."

The area highlighted in the map below has been asked to 'be aware' and 'prepared' for adverse weather conditions.