Sandstorm hits Manama; airport open

Manama: Bahrain's traffic on Saturday came to a snail pace for around one hour after a sandstorm hit the country in late afternoon. However, the airport remained open.

The unusual weather for the month of May surprised most motorists as temperatures in the early afternoon reached 40 degrees Celsius.

The weather conditions prompted rumours quickly relayed by mobiles that schools would not reopen on Sunday following the two-day weekend.

The weather forecast in the morning expected "fine weather with a variable amount of cloud and above normal temperature and variable winds range from 10 to 15 knots, becoming variablefrom 3 to 8 knots later during the day."