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Vehicles travelling on the Al Dhaid road during the heavy rains that inundated streets. Image Credit: Arshad Ali/Gulf News

Al Ain: There was moderate to heavy rain on Monday morning across the emirates, intensifying the cold conditions that caused discomfort for children and the elderly.

In most places, thick black clouds started blanketing the skies late on Sunday night with some light rain in Al Ain, Dubai and Ras Al Khaimah. The conditions intensified in severity early in the morning in cities on the western coastline, which were soon hit by moderate to heavy rain.

Streams started flowing down the mountains, streets got flooded, with drivers’ skills tested in all the major cities from Ras Al Khaimah to Abu Dhabi. A Gulf News reader said: “I started from Sharjah at 5.30am and reached Abu Dhabi now at 9:15am. Everywhere, even the highways, it is full of rain.”

According to the National Centre of Meteorology and Seismology (NCMS), the heaviest rainfall was in Ras Al Khaimah where 21.8mm of rain was recorded in Jebel Jais area, with 14.4mm in Dhudna, 9.4mm in Sir Bu Nair, and 6.2mm in Umm Al Quwain.

Forecasters said the current rainy spell seems to have ended with Monday’s rain. “The chance of rain will steeply decrease though the conditions will continue to be partly cloudy in the next couple of days,” said a forecaster. Temperatures are likely to be in the range of 23 to 16 degrees Celsius across the country.

The weather started clearing at around noon with a decrease in cloud cover. “We expect a slight increase in temperature from [Tuesday], but conditions will continue to be pleasant during the daytime,” said the forecaster.

He, however, warned people of a possibility of fog in the morning in coastal and internal areas as there are chances of increase in humidity at night and early in the morning. It will moderately windy. The national weather bureau also warned people of rough to very rough seas on Tuesday as the waves could reach nine feet offshore.