Rain and thunderstorms to hit most parts of UAE on Friday

Al Ain: Rain and thunderstorms are expected to hit the UAE on Friday, after a brief lull.

Consequently, the Meteorological Office has issued a weather alert asking people to stay away from the Wadis and the sea during the weekend, saying the rains are expected to cause flash flooding in the mountainous areas. The sea will be rough with waves four- to eight-feet high offshore.

Dr S.K. Gupta, a senior forecaster at Dubai Meteorological Office, said: "The dust, pushed in from the Southern Saudi Arabia and Bahrain a few days ago is still in the UAE air, contributing to the hazy conditions. The conditions will be cloudy starting from Friday [today] morning but rain and thunderstorm is expected to hit in the afternoon and expected to continue till Saturday [tomorrow] morning."

"Rain could be torrential in some areas and there are chances of flashfloods in the mountainous areas," added the forecaster.

The system had already contributed to heavy rains in Saudi Arabia and Yemen and has moved close to the lower Arabian Gulf.

Chances of flooding are fairly high, in the event of heavy rains, as the land is already saturated after last week's showers that pounded the emirates.

The new weather system has been generating clouds that have been moving from the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean towards Pakistan via Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman and the UAE.

According to the National Centre of Meteorology and Seismology, weather will be unstable in the next 48 hours. It will be cloudy with a chance of thunder and rain, said the report.

The maximum temperature yesterday was 33 degrees Celsius in Al Ain, 32 degrees Celsius in Abu Dhabi, Ras Al Khaimah, 31 degrees Celsius in Sharjah, Ajman, and Umm Al Quwain, and 30 degrees Celsius in Dubai and Fujairah.

Humidity is also high in most UAE cities as the weathermen have yesterday recorded its maximum level from 80 to 85 per cent. The winds will remain moderate, blowing at a speed of 10 to 18 knots at times.