Al Ain: Residents are ready to enjoy rain and “just chill” despite the traffic woes as forecasters warned of more scattered showers in the coastal and northern emirates tomorrow. (Tuesday).

Temperature has dropped to the cold wintry levels across the emirates today, enabling people to enjoy outdoor evenings and prepare for the festive occasions of Christmas eve and New Year. The unsettled weather is likely to improve from Wednesday but wintry chill will stay for days.

Drizzle to light rain also fell in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Ras Al Khaimah and some other parts of the emirates. People in Al Ain, however, enjoyed winter sun, cool temperature and completely dry weather. Sharjah residents faced a tough situation on Monday when moderate to heavy rain hit the emirate between 3am to 6am. Forecasters reported some 22 millimetres rain till 8am in Sharjah and 18 millimetres in Ajman.

Similar situation was also reported from some parts of Dubai. Rain, leading to water logging in low-lying areas, resulted heavy traffic jam with people stuck in their vehicles for hours.

According to the national weather bureau, intermittent rain hit UAE’s coastal, northern and eastern areas up to Fujairah since Saturday night. The heaviest rainfall was, however, in Sharjah on Monday morning. Water logging, car breakdowns and minor accidents made driving miserable for most early-morning motorists.

“Every year when rain comes Sharjah roads are floating… today I felt I was not driving but floating in a boat car from Sedana Signal till Caterpillar Signal… it was terrible,” said Ali Asghar, a Gulf News reader from Dubai. A Sharjah resident said, “My car was almost immersed in water.” Residents of Abu Shagara and industrial areas in Sharjah said they could not step out of their homes as roads were filled with rainwater.

“Oh….I love it. It’s the romantic weather at its best,” said Beena Sunil, a resident of Sharjah. She said people should enjoy instead of complaining.

“Be positive yaar [friends], just chill in such a lovely weather,” she said. For Beena, it’s the time for winter fashion clothes, hot drinks and fun.

The overcast weather pushed temperature to just 3 degree Celsius in the mountainous region of Ras Al Khaimah and around 10 to 12 degree Celsius in Ajman, Sharjah, and some other coastal and desert areas on Monday morning.

The National Centre of Meteorology and Seismology (NCMS) said the weather would be partly cloudy in general especially in the western emirates and the UAE islands in the Arabian Gulf with a chance of rainfall in the next 24 hours.

Winds would be moderate in general but could become strong at times over the sea, especially during the cloudy activity. Similar forecast has been made for Thursday. The sea would be rough at times and the centre has advised people to be cautious.