Abu Dhabi: A storm predicted to hit the region in the next two days will not affect the UAE, the National Centre of Meteorology (NCM) said on Tuesday.
Due to tropical depression in the south east of Arabian Sea, a tropical storm was expected to develop later in the day on Tuesday.
In the next two days, it is expected to form into a cyclone that will hit the coastal areas of Oman and Yemen by Friday.
The predicted path of the cyclone does not touch the UAE though the country might witness heavy winds and clouds in the southern and eastern parts, NCM forecasters said.
“The UAE will not be affected directly by the cyclone,” said one of them.
“We are not seeing any effect of the cyclone here from today until Friday,” he told Gulf News on Tuesday afternoon.
Though no dramatic change is expected in the path of the cyclone, the NCM is observing it round the clock to see if there will be any change in its direction towards the UAE, the weather department said.
As of now, there is no need for any concern regarding the storm and residents should refrain from spreading rumours, the officials cautioned.
Some reports on social media had warned the UAE residents of a storm hitting the country on Wednesday and Thursday. Based on that, some social media users called on the NCM “to educate people about it in case something serious happens in order to avoid what happened during Cyclone Gonu”.
The strongest tropical cyclone to hit the Arabian Peninsula, Gonu had devastated the coast of Oman and killed at least 12 in the sultanate and three in Iran in June 2007. When it lashed again in May 2009, the hurricane left at least 35 killed in both those countries and also battered the east coast of the UAE.
However, UAE officials rebutted the social media reports and urged residents not to spread such rumours.
“If there is any need for taking any precautions, we will issue alerts regarding that,” said a senior meteorologist.
Wednesday will witness fair to partly cloudy weather in general and hazy at times, with a probability of convective clouds eastward by afternoon.
There will be light to moderate winds in general, blowing dust over some exposed areas.
The temperature will rise and the relative humidity will also increase by night and early morning on Thursday over some coastal areas.
Similar weather conditions are expected on Thursday as well. The relative humidity will increase by Thursday night and early morning of Friday over some coastal and internal areas, with a chance of fog or mist formation.
On Friday, the southeasterly wind will become northwesterly by afternoon. By evening, it may reach 35kmph at times and may cause kicking up of dust over the exposed areas.
Slight to moderate waves are predicted in the Arabian Gulf and Oman Sea for the next three days.
