Weather alert issued for more rain, temperatures drop by 5 to 7°C in the UAE

Dubai: Brace for a chilly evening, the Met office has recorded a significant drop in temperatures across the UAE today. The maximum temperature recorded this afternoon was 23.7°C in Sweihan (Abu Dhabi), meanwhile, Dubai, Sharjah, and other coastal areas saw maximum temperatures around 19 to 20°C, on Thursday afternoon.

Usually, temperatures during the afternoon in January average around 26°C. UAE’s Ministry of Interior issued a safety advisory asking people to stay away from any areas prone to flash floods.

Rain hit parts of the UAE again on Thursday afternoon. The National Center of Meteorology (NCM) recorded light to moderate rainfall in parts of Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Fujairah, while other parts of the country saw overcast skies.

The NCM issued a yellow and orange weather alert indicating that rainy clouds have developed across the country  and cloudy weather conditions are expected till 11pm.

According to a senior Met office official, heavy rain and strong winds are expected in some parts of the country tonight, along with thunder and lightning.

Social media updates from Instagram page @storm_ae showed heavy rainfall in parts of Abu Dhabi.

Unstable weather is expected to end by Friday, the NCM official told Gulf News, in a previous report, forcasting the weather for the week. However, partly cloudy to cloudy skies, with a chance of light rainfall will continue over the weekend.

Unstable weather was caused because, the country was "under the effect of a surface low pressure system extension from the southwest with an extension of an upper air trough from the north, along with cold and humid air mass flowing in from the west in the upper air," said the NCM official.

While temperatures will see a slight increase on Friday, a further dip is expected on Saturday and Sunday, according to the NCM forecast for the weekend.