Rain to end as low pressure zone leaves Empty Quarter

Dubai: After brief showers very early this morning, the rains will stop and from Tuesday temperatures are expected to climb up to the 30 degrees Celsius-range, according to the meteorological office.

"There is a chance of one more spell starting late Saturday night and continuing early today and then it is all over," said Dr S.K. Gupta, duty forecaster, noting that the rainy season had drawn to an end.

The low pressure system brought heavy rains on Saturday in the south near the UAE border with Oman. The huge cloud mass helped temperatures fall to 26C.

The minimum temperatures at night were more cooler at 21C.

The heavy rains in some parts of the UAE on Saturday also dropped visibility to less than a kilometre. In Dubai 4.2 millimetres of rainfall were recorded on Friday night and 0.6 mm on Saturday morning.

The low pressure originated from the Empty Quarter (Rube'a Al Khali) and was now moving on to Iran and Pakistan, said Dr Gupta.

Rain clouds dumped six millimetres of rains over Sharjah during the past two days and minimum temperature were down to 17C, according to the weather bureau. The highest rainfall during a 24-hour period was 60 mm of rain recorded over the past days which inundated low lying areas.

The rain in Dubai in March was about 70mm, just slightly less than the record of 80mm, according to the Dubai Met Office.

The rains usually flood the streets because the drains get clogged by sand. A number of families had to be evacuated from their homes in remote villages in Fujiarah as the heavy rains flooded the low-lying areas.

The rains also brought hundreds of people to Ras Al Khaimah who came to watch the dams and valleys filling up. Despite a heavy police presence many cases were reported of cars stranded by rushing waters.

Across the Emirates, 12 people died due to the rains and occasional hailstorms while 13 injured in various other accidents.

Will you miss the rains? Why? What was the best thing about last week's rain? Did it alter any of your plans?

it was Great, felt like I was back home in the UK... Dubai marina was rocking, I invited all my friends to my apartment had a dinner and we all got drenched in our balconey... it was fantastic - I never thought it would rain in Dubai ! I MISS IT
Israr Ahmad
Dubai,UAE
Posted: April 05, 2009, 16:30

Awww rain when will you ever come back. I will miss each and every drop of it. to be honest it was one of the best days ever in my whole life. the rain gave a smile to each and every kid and older people a smile on there face. It was so nice driving the car in the rain though it was dangerous. I hope it rains again and make each and every one living in the UAE happy again.
Mohammad Armaan
Abu Dhabi,UAE
Posted: April 05, 2009, 16:21

I miss too much of the rain while sleeping under shatter roof during holiday. I wish more rain in the UAE.
Liaqat Ali
Ras Al Khaimah,UAE
Posted: April 05, 2009, 15:53

I will cherish the evening when i went for a walk to the Deira corniche with my wife and kid. First time, i didnt miss India because it felt as if i was there already and the best part was a car splashing all three of us into shock and then laugther. A guy in formals who also got drenched was annoyed - not at the car but at us for enjoying it. :) Rain Rain come again, come again another day!!
John Mathew
Dubai,UAE
Posted: April 05, 2009, 15:24

Rains were simply awesome!!! Wonderful weather lasted till April was a great experience. We enjoyed the outdoor weekends, cool breeze at the creekside. Although there were waterclogs, traffic jams it was great weather, will miss till next year.
Rekha Thakur
Dubai,UAE
Posted: April 05, 2009, 15:11

I will miss the rain but then im happy it ended. Since it become a mini pool in Sharjah and you would have seen drains giving out water rather than clearing it.
Faisal
Dubai,UAE
Posted: April 05, 2009, 15:05

I Love rain. We will definitely miss the rain in the UAE. I came here two years ago. After i came here the raining season started, says Nishat my Husband.
Humera Nishat
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: April 05, 2009, 15:04

It was really awesome to have unexpected rain in March this year, everyone will certainly miss beautiful weather after rain here in Dubai.
Masoud Safi
Dubai,UAE
Posted: April 05, 2009, 14:56

After sandstorms, rain brought relief from the dust. Certainly we are going to miss the rain and hope rainy days will come back.
Mohan
Al Ain,UAE
Posted: April 05, 2009, 14:52

I surely miss the rain.The climate is so wonderful and pleasant and my whole family enjoyed the rain. When will this rain be back again?
Farveez
Dubai,UAE
Posted: April 05, 2009, 14:48

Ya I will miss it because i like to drive my car in the rain. So i will miss the rain.
Mohammad Asif
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: April 05, 2009, 14:17

So does this mean i can now finally take my car for a wash?
Vinay Bhatia
Dubai,UAE
Posted: April 05, 2009, 13:20

Rain, Rain, Rain. Please send rain throughout the year in UAE.
Mir Shahriar Ahmad
Dubai,UAE
Posted: April 05, 2009, 13:15

I will certainely miss the rain. i used to always make my feet wet and cold. it was so nice and pleasant. After all this busy and late hours of my work at least I had a chance to enjoy the rain outside. Lets get to sweat it out for summer.
Mathew litty
Dubai,UAE
Posted: April 05, 2009, 13:02

I will miss the rain again. I like driving while it is raining. I have no plan at all when the rainfall began.
Yousuf
Dubai,UAE
Posted: April 05, 2009, 12:52

Dust storms predictions turned into rain! I hope the rains don't stop. Rain! Rain!
M. F.
Dubai,UAE
Posted: April 05, 2009, 12:52

I will miss rainy days. I love those days. It helps to refresh our feelings. I loved the scattered rain very much.
Jayaprakash
Al Ain,UAE
Posted: April 05, 2009, 12:49

To be honest, i will miss the rain, because the rain in Muscat and even UAE is sparse, except for the mountainous areas, and you get to feel that it is a special day compared to other days because the sky remains sunny for most of the year. The best thing about last week's rain was that we received very heavy rain reaching 80mm, and this made the ministry announce two days of holidays.
Faisal
Muscat,Oman
Posted: April 05, 2009, 11:06

yes ill miss the rains,because it was the best time of the year for the ones who enjoyed it in the way it should be, I feel sorry for the accidents that took place, apart from that every thing was perfect, hope we get more rain.
Manoj Mathai
Ras Al Khaimah,UAE
Posted: April 05, 2009, 10:27

The rain was the best thing. I can't believe its over for another year, I wish it rained at least once a month, very refreshing. Oh well on with the scorching sun now!
Sarah Johnson
Dubai,UAE
Posted: April 05, 2009, 10:22

I will definitely miss the rains. It brings so much joy. It was a good change from all the negative conversations people were busy with about the global crisis. I was surprised and happy to see so many adults actually so excited about the rains and had smiles like they were kids, thats rare to see these days among adults. I know many who were upset by the rains because of the water logged roads and difficulty to get to their cars including myself but this happens perhaps once or twice a year here in the UAE. In the end, we should appreciate rain, the source of life without which it would be hard to exist. It was the most joyful week in a long time.
Sanjeev Vijayan
Dubai,UAE
Posted: April 05, 2009, 10:08

I wont miss the rain in UAE, i am not accustomed to have rains in UAE. For the last 6 years, this year has the frequent and has long days of raining experienced in the country as such my plans for playing tennis were altered due to this event. Likewise, flooded streets are not conducive for roaming around.
Carlos
RAK,UAE
Posted: April 05, 2009, 10:07

Miss rains, No! its good it has stopped.
Soheb Ismail Shaikh
Dubai,UAE
Posted: April 05, 2009, 08:38

Loved the rain. Had a wonderful drive back home (Dubai) from Al Ain on Friday night. I wish UAE would improve the road infrastructure to handle rain.
Shiraz
Dubai,UAE
Posted: April 05, 2009, 08:31

It was a wonderful experience for me, which led me to the nostalgic memories of school opening days in Kerala, my homeland. I was really enjoying that since I desperately missed such a climate after reaching this part of the world. I'm thankful for giving us an unexpected gift. But still I feel sorry for those who lost their lives because of the rain. We have to take more efforts to avoid any such incidents in future.
Chindhu Ravindran
Dubai,UAE
Posted: April 05, 2009, 08:20

Well rainy days are always welcome by the people of UAE despite tha waterclogging, traffic jams problems... it helps to bring down the temperature
Umair
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: April 05, 2009, 07:59

I certainly will miss the rain, it was the best rainy days ever, watching the rain fall from your terrace and having tea with your friends was a great experience, especially remembering the same whether back in your native country. It brought back good old memories from the past, but I still feel sorry for the loses people suffered across UAE.
Jahan
Dubai,UAE
Posted: April 05, 2009, 07:37