UAE: More rain, strong winds expected

The UAE woke up to water-logged streets on Saturday morning after heavy rains last night. 

In Dubai, rainfall reached 150 mm/hour for 2.5 hours, according to preliminary reports, tweeted Dubai Media Office.

Besides, thunder and lightning ran rampant for a bit on Friday night. One of the most impressive shots taken of this display was the sight of lightning striking the Burj Khalifa.

Cloudy and rainy weather is expected to continue today.

According to the National Center of Meteorology's daily forecast: "Continuity of rainfall, especially over the Northern, Eastern, and some coastal and internal areas. The number of clouds will decrease gradually by evening."

Areas that will see rainfall include Eastern parts of Abu Dhabi, Dubai Sharjah, Ajman, Ras Al Khaimah, Fujairah, the Jais mountains, Umm Al Quwain and the islands in the northeastern regions of the country.

A weather forecaster from the NCM explained the reason for the current weather. He said: "Since Thursday, cold air is descending towards the UAE from the western region and the Red Sea. Right now both the upper air and surface have low pressure. And, when the cold air mass reaches the UAE and there is low pressure, it helps to generate clouds. The situation will remain the same until Saturday evening, and then calm down. However, there will be scattered rain on Sunday also."

These clouds that are moving over the country are being cloud seeded by the weathermen to enhance rainfall over the country.

Non-stop rains caused the low-lying valleys in Fujairah to flood, videos of this were shared by the NCM on Instagram:

NCM has also alerted that windy and cloudy weather is also expected to blow dust and sand across the country, resulting in poor horizontal visibility. Winds at a speed of 35-45km/h going up to a maximum of 55-65km/h are expected to kick up some dust in exposed areas. If you are heading outdoors, it's advisable to be prepared.

According to the NCM, the temperatures across the country have seen a dip since it started raining on Thursday evening. The maximum temperatures in the country will be 20-23°C in internal areas, 19-22 °C in coastal areas. It will be cooler in mountainous areas with temperatures up to 11-15 °C.

Relative humidity across the country will be moderate between 35-45 per cent going up to a maximum of 85 per cent in the coastal regions and 80 in the internal areas of the country.

It's also advisable to avoid beach trips today: " The sea will be rough to very rough in the Arabian Gulf and in Oman Sea."