Snow in RAK, cold blast sweeps UAE
dubai — Some people were stranded on Jabel Jais mountian in Ras Al Khaimah as snow and blustery conditions caught them unawares on Friday. Met authorities said temperatures fell to -2.2 degree Celsius in the morning. The dip in temperatures across the UAE caused several accidents, traffic jams and saw the cancellation of several events, but Saturday is expected to be calmer and brighter.
The weather department said a gradual increase in temperature is expected today and on Sunday. “There will be less chance of rain on Saturday and Sunday but low clouds will be there,” said Majed Alshekeili of the National Center for Meteorology and Seismology.
Residents woke up to a chilly Friday morning as the temperature fell and strong winds hit the country, causing the cancellation of the Dubai Tour, Omega Dubai Desert Classic golf tournament and RedFestDXB music festival.
The inclement weather also forced Global Village to shut its doors while the inaugural Sharjah Sports Desert Festival at Al Badayer Desert pushed through with its championship round despite occasional dust storms. Also on Friday, a crane came down over Nassima Royal Hotel and fell along Sheikh Zayed road, near the Crowne Plaza Hotel.
The Dubai Media Office tweeted that one person was injured in the accident and was immediately sent to hospital for treatment. The incident also set three cars on fire and Civil Defence teams dealt with the blaze. No flight delays were reported. An Etihad Airways spokesperson told Khaleej Times.
Strong winds, cold wave, rain and sandstorm hit the country on Friday, causing cancellation of big events, closure of a major tourist destination, uprooted trees, snailing traffic and accidents in some parts of the country.
However, the weather change did not affect flight services much as no regional and international flight delays were reported. An Etihad Airways spokesperson told Khaleej Times: “We’re operating normally at this time and no delays to report.” An Emirates spokesperson also said that there were “no significant weather-related delays.”
One person was injured and three cars were burnt after a crane fell on Dubai’s Sheikh Zayed Road, causing a long traffic block. However, personnel from the Dubai Civil Defence and the Dubai Police managed to bring the situation back to normal immediately.
Fire and traffic accidents were reported from various parts of the country after the strong wind. Poor visibility caused many accidents and most of the residents had to sit inside their houses to avoid the dust and cold.
The winds uprooted trees and signages in almost all the emirates.
The Global Village was closed for the day and fourth stage of the Dubai Tour was cancelled because of the weather conditions.
In Abu Dhabi, the weather dropped to a chilly 13 degrees Celsius by 6pm, with heavy dust storms sweeping the motorways.
Visibility was reduced to around two kilometres in many parts of the Capital, according to the National Centre of Meteorology and Seismology (NCMS). Temperatures plunged to lows of 12 degrees Celsius in inlands.
However, some residents braved the cold weather and decided to go to Jebel Jais where the lowest temp was recorded -2.2 degrees Celsius at 9am on Friday morning. However, the police stopped people from going to the highest mountain of the UAE after it got too crowded and many were stuck in Ras Al Khaimah.
The highest wind speed was recorded at 90km/hr in Fujairah coastal area and the lowest horizontal visibility in some parts of Dubai was at 100m. The highest wave was 15 feet in Arabian Gulf.
According to NCMS, the highest amount of rain recorded on Friday was 32.4 mm recorded at Jebel Mebreh in Ras Al Khaimah. The area surrounding RAK Airport also received 15.7 mm of rain.
Saturday’s forecast, according to Met, is expected to be partly cloudy to cloudy at times over some areas especially over the north.
Fresh winds during daytime will cause blowing dust with poor visibility at times than will become moderate wind by night. The sea will be rough in Arabian Gulf and moderate to rough at times in Oman Sea.
Sunday will be partly cloudy in general and hazy at times over some areas. There will moderate winds in general and the relative humidity will increase during night and early morning over some internal areas with chance of mist and fog formation. Sea will be moderate to rough in Arabian Gulf and slight to moderate in Oman Sea.