Dubai: A cold air mass will affect the country from Thursday until the weekend, leading to a significant drop in temperatures across, even to below freezing and a chance of snowfall over the mountains on Friday.
Weather will be unstable this weekend due to a deep low pressure associated with cold air mass in the upper layers and other factors.
“This situation is not only affecting the UAE but the surrounding area. The instability is in the south of Iran and the extension of the trough is affecting our area. This is associated with strong winds and will bring the coldest air mass for this winter,” a forecaster from the National Centre of Meteorology and Seismology told Gulf News.
Temperatures will significantly drop starting from Thursday and continue to drop on Friday.
“The temperature may fall below zero degree over high mountains, specifically Jebel Jais because it’s over 1,900 metres and could even fall below 0°C. If there is any precipitation in the area when the temperatures drop to 0°C or even 1°C to 2°C, there is a chance of snow,” the forecaster said.
The surrounding areas in Ras Al Khaimah will have an average temperature of between 18 degree Celsius and 22C. The rest of the country will have below 20C on average.
Sub-zero temperatures in the Jebel Jais are not a new phenomenon. Cold snaps do happen in the UAE and the UAE’s highest mountain sometimes gets covered in snow.
In December 2004, the first heavy snowfall in living memory for residents was recorded on the mountain of Ra’alat Al Jais, also in Ras Al Khaimah. It covered an area spanning 1km.
This happened again in January 2012 and three years earlier in January 2009 when the mountain had around 20cm of snow extending over 5km. The extreme cold spell brought the mercury down to -3°C on top of the Jebel Jais mountains.
The lowest temperatures are recorded in the UAE every January with an average minimum temperature of 12.9°C.
On Thursday and Friday, forecasters said there is a chance for rain mainly in the coastal northern area and the islands. The rainfall probability extends towards some internal areas.
The rest of the country will be generally cloudy.
Beachgoers are advised to avoid going to the sea as both the Arabian Gulf and the Oman Sea will be rough becoming very rough. The Arabian Gulf is expected to have offshore wave heights of 14 feet on Thursday up to 16 feet on Friday. The Oman Sea will have up to 9-foot-high waves offshore on Thursday, rising up to 12 feet on Friday.
North-westerly wind will freshen, gradually becoming strong that will cause blowing sand and dust and lower visibility to less than 1,000m in some places.
Winds will weaken gradually by Saturday night and Sunday morning.
