Abu Dhabi/Dubai: Unstable weather will continue to prevail over the country, bringing rain and possibly thunderstorms and flooding near mountains in parts of the country, until Thursday evening.
“The UAE will continue to be affected by the extension of low pressure system coming from the east of the Arabian Peninsula with extension of low pressure from the upper level which will continue to deepen on Wednesday,” according to a weather alert from the National Centre of Meteorology and Seismology (NCMS).
The cloud volume will increase over some areas with towering or thundery clouds associated with fresh to strong winds with different intensities of rain peaking from Wednesday to Thursday evening.
Residents are advised to avoid mountainous areas and valleys due to risk of flash floods and valley runoffs.
On Tuesday, a thunderstorm lashed Abu Dhabi and Al Ain in the morning until after 12pm, and spared Dubai, which only got a few minutes of drizzle at noon. Visibility was markedly low on some roads in the capital due to the downpour. A number of outdoor events, including an aerobatic flying display as part of Air Expo 2016, was postponed as well as a discussion about fishermen in the Western Region.
While residents reported witnessing traffic accidents, statistics from the Abu Dhabi Police Traffic and Patrols Directorate were not immediately available.
Samer Miqdadi, 36, a Jordanian computer engineer, told Gulf News that he had passed by at least two accidents on Khaleej Al Arabi Road when heading to work in the morning.
“It was a bit cloudy and raining lightly at around 8am, and there was a traffic slowdown due to accidents. I was an hour late to work,” Miqdadi said.
The thundery clouds that darkened the skies of Abu Dhabi at around noon moved eastwards to Al Ain and neighbouring areas in the interior of the UAE, before moving further eastwards to Oman by 3.30pm.
The highest recorded rainfall was in Al Foah near Al Ain at 77mm. Neighbouring towns of Al Khazna got 70mm while Khatam Al Shakla received 67.6mm. Light to moderate rain was reported in Al Ain at 27.6mm, while Madinat Zayed and Khalifa City got 27mm.
In Fujairah, police on Tuesday afternoon closed the Yabsa Road in both directions, which leads to mountain slopes, due to wet weather.
Brigadier Mohammad Bin Naya, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of Fujairah Police, issued a directive to intensify the presence of traffic patrols and security across all internal and external areas of the emirate.
A total of 35 police patrols were deployed on the road, mainly around low-lying areas and valleys.
The Air Wing was also placed on alert in case of hard-to-reach areas that may be affected by rain in the coming days.
In Ras Al Khaimah, Major General Ali Bin Alwan Al Nuaimi, Commander-in-Chief of RAK Police, said adequate measures have been put in place to reduce accidents in bad weather.
A total of 50 police patrols were deployed on various roads in the emirate, mainly near valleys and residential areas.
Ambulances and rescue teams, along with Air Wing officials, were also on alert to handle any possible emergencies.
A few roads that often get waterlogged were closed as a precautionary measure, he added.
- By Janice Ponce de Leon, Aghaddir Ali, Noorhan Barakat, Samihah Zaman, Staff Reporters, and Aseel Lulu, Trainee
