Heavy rain in Al Ain

Heavy rain in Al Ain brings temporary relief to residents

Dubai: Over an hour of heavy rain accompanied by thunder and lightning in the eastern part of the country provided residents with temporary relief from the scorching heat late in the afternoon on Tuesday.

The National Centre of Meteorology and Seismology (NCMS) recorded 33.6mm of rain over the Jebel Hafeet area where it rained for one and a half hours. The temperature in Jebel Hafeet dropped sharply by 10 degrees Celsius as cool air was dragged to the surface. Next to Jebel Hafeet, Mezyed, a town in Al Ain, received up to 11.6mm of rain.

Scattered rain was recorded in other parts of the Eastern Region as well.

A weather forecaster told Gulf News that the rain was caused by surface winds coming from the Oman Sea which was obstructed by the Hajar Mountains. The air then got pushed up causing condensation and formation of convective clouds. NCMS recorded cloud accumulation reaching up 14 kilometres high.

NCMS has sought to alert motorists in the Eastern Region to exercise caution while outdoors as roads may be slippery and surface visibility has dropped by 400 metres over Al Ain Airport and neighbouring areas.

NCMS said thunderstorms in the Eastern Region are not unusual during the peak of summer. Some convective clouds may form in the coming days and rain may occur.

Weather in the rest of the country on Wednesday will remain hot to very hot in general, with temperatures ranging between 42C and 47C. Humidity will be highest in the coastal areas ranging between 60 and 90 per cent.