Rain in UAE: Cloud cover decreases over Abu Dhabi and Dubai, chance of moderate rainfall in Fujairah
NCM downgrades amber alert to yellow, partly cloudy skies expected on Friday and Saturday
Dubai: After heavy rains across the UAE on Thursday morning, the Sun is out and the clouds are gradually moving away from the coastal cities of Abu Dhabi and Dubai, towards Oman.
The National Center of Meteorology (NCM) has downgraded the amber alert to yellow, showing that the cloud cover over the country has reduced significantly.
According to the NCM website, which shows the heatmap of clouds over the country, some parts of Abu Dhabi and Dubai will continue to see partly overcast skies and light showers on Thursday afternoon.
However, some internal parts of the country and areas lying in the east and south of UAE, including Hatta, Fujairah and Al Ain, continue to see overcast skies with a chance of moderate to heavy rainfall, according to the cameras placed at the weather stations in these locations.
According to the Met Office, the unstable weather condition was due to an "extension of surface low pressure from the Red Sea and humid south-easterly winds", which caused rain clouds to migrate from Saudi Arabia towards the UAE.
Heavy rain and thunderstorms hit Abu Dhabi and Dubai early on Thursday morning. Dubai residents woke up to strong winds, thunder and lightning at around 3am, earlier than expected in the weather forecast.
While the intensitiy of rain decreased around 4.30am, the situation intensified again around 8am, with heavy downpours recorded across the entire country, till about 10am.
The intensity of rainfall decreased again by 10.30am, with light scattered showers continuing across the country till 1.30pm.
Clear to partly cloudy skies are expected on Friday and Saturday, with some chance of rainfall in the eastern and southern parts of the country, according to the NCM.