Al Ain: Heavy rain with thunder, lightning and winds lashed Al Ain and its surrounding areas since Saturday evening, flooding many streets and low-lying areas.
The oasis city received more than 55mm rain while it was just drizzle and light rain in other cities of the emirates. A weatherman at the UAE Meteorological Department said the weather spell has now moved towards Iran and Pakistan. "We are expecting no rain in the next few days," said the forecaster.
Westerly disturbance
The current weather system hit the country on Thursday when gusty winds stirred dust and sands almost all over the country.
"These winds had created a vacuum and westerly disturbance [cold air coming from the Mediterranean Sea] generated clouds and the thunder activity," said the meteorologist. An overcast condition fast developed over Al Ain, and rain started at around 3:00pm on Saturday.
Later, a much heavier rain spell started at 7:00pm and rain continued, with brief intervals, till 11:00am yesterday. Many low-lying streets and localities in Al Ain were inundated.
The weatherman said Al Ain received 55.7mm and Abu Dhabi just 4.8mm rain until 7:00am yesterday.
The weather was also overcast in other cities as Dubai and Sharjah received just traces. Light rain was also reported in Ras Al Khaimah (0.3mm) and Fujairah (2.7mm).
Traffic was also thin on the street and civil defence reported a number of minor accidents but no casualties. A car also skidded off the road near UAE University's Islamic Institute and jumped into the roadside greenbelt.
According to the forecast, the weather will remain partly cloudy in general with some chances of rain in northern and eastern areas of the country in the next 48 hours.
