Tropical cyclone brings first summer rains

A tropical cyclone which brought fierce lightning and thunder and a sand storm on Friday and continued until last night, dumping the first rains of summer on the emirate.

On Friday, a wooden house for workers caught fire and was destroyed after it was struck by lightning. Two other rooftops were blown off in the capital.

A Bangladeshi worker sustained minor burns when lightning set his house on fire in Al Khazna, Al Ain, late on Friday night.

Parts of Abu Dhabi city experienced thunder and sandstorms, with drizzling caused by the tropical cyclone as it passed south-west of the Arabian Sea.

Haji Lal Mohammed, a resident of Al Khazna, said the storm disrupted the power supply in the area. "The power went off around 10 p.m. The sky was lit with lightning and strong winds blew over the area."

The electricity was restored in some areas within an hour.

Another resident, Dad Rahman, said: "We were watching television when all of a sudden the power went off and the next thing we knew we were also without a roof, which blew away in the wind." Abu Dhabi city also witnessed thunder, a sandstorm and severely reduced visibility.

The change in the weather continued for about an hour, followed by continued strong winds until the morning.

Lightning also struck an antenna on the roof of a tower building on Istiqlal Street, but caused no damage. By late afternoon, yesterday, the capital was experiencing a heavy downpour that left the streets flooded.

According to the Meteorological Office in the capital, the cyclone was caused by low winds in a large area of the Arabian Sea, particularly the southern coast of Oman.

Weathermen said heavy clouds brought by the cyclone was expected to soak up Dubai and parts of the Northern Emirates in thundershowers last night.

Sea-goers and people in marina areas were also told be cautious.

As of 9pm last night, weather forecasters at the Dubai International Airport said that the remnants of tropical "Cyclone 01–A" which crossed the south coast of Oman near Salalah affected desert areas of the Empty Quarter, the UAE, and Northern Oman.

Strong southerly wind flow at medium levels brought unstable air in from the Indian Ocean and triggered thunderstorms over parts of the Emirates, according to Clive Stevens, duty forecaster at the Dubai International Airport.

Thunderstorms affected Abu Dhabi and Fujairah airports around 1800 local time last night. The thunderstorms also affected the Jebel Ali Area in Dubai, where some rain fell.

The lightning was observed in the Jebel Ali area between 8 and 9pm last night, with strong winds reported. Similar weather was also experienced in parts of Oman.

The Met Office said the weather would return to normal today, with the temperature rising by six to seven degrees Celsius.

However, the office said, the temperature will drop from tomorrow afternoon and range between 26 and 39 degrees Celsius on Tuesday and Wednesday. The seas will be rough tomorrow and Tuesday.