Abu Dhabi: The UAE is experiencing unstable weather conditions that will continue until Tuesday as a result of interaction between rising ground heat and the cooler atmosphere, an official at the Centre of Meteorology and Seismology confirmed to Gulf News yesterday.
"These conditions began yesterday at around noon with the development of clouds over the western Al Hajar mountain range [located along the UAE-Oman border].
"As a result of easterly winds, they travelled to various areas around the mountain range, such as Al Zayd [located northwest of Fujairah].
"In the late afternoon, they began to release rain and also caused lightning and thunder," the meteorologist said.
Al Ain and surrounding areas received rain recorded in Al Hili, Al Hair and Jebel Hafeet and several other places.
Hail
"On Jebel Hafeet, we recorded 1.2mm of rainfall, whereas Mizyad received 4.8mm of rain. But there have been areas where rain was negligible.
"Also, Al Fuaa, which is located near Dubai, experienced hail in addition to rain.
"Overall, Al Ain experienced rain and windy conditions that led to a brief reduction in visibility before it cleared," the official said.
According to the meteorologist, the weather conditions experienced yesterday were expected to clear during the night before returning later this afternoon, with similar conditions. The pattern will continue tomorrow but at a lower intensity before dissipating completely.
Strong winds
"The areas located from the north-west to the south-east of the UAE are the most affected, since they are the places that tend to experience rainfall due to their proximity to the western Al Hajar mountain range.
"For residents within the Emirates, such as Sharjah, will not experience any rain, though those who are on the outskirts may experience some windy conditions," he said.
Dubai will be among the few areas to experience strong winds, but is not expected to receive any rainfall.
However, temperatures across the UAE will remain in the range of 39 to 46 degrees Celsius and humidity levels are expected to be between 20 and 85 per cent depending on the location.
"While the wind speeds in several areas are being estimated at 46 km/h, Dubai will experience 60km/h winds during the periods of weather instability from late afternoon to the evening.
"Also visibility levels are shifting sharply, for example in Sharjah they dropped to 1,500 metres before rising to 6,000 metres shortly afterwards," the official added.
