First real blast of winter hits Dubai and Northern Emirates
▶ Unsettled weather, which has brought widespread disruption, is set to continue during the coming week
Heavy rained lashed parts of the country yesterday, with almost 600 accidents reported in Dubai alone and forecasters warning there may be more bad weather on the way.
From hailstones in the northern emirates to flooded streets in central Dubai, drivers, residents and emergency services struggled to cope with the sudden deluge.
The National Centre of Meteorology and Seismology said that the winter weather would continue through today.
It also said that 10 cloud-seeding flights had taken place since Saturday, part of a broaden operation to increase rainfall in the country.
Residents flooded social media with photos and videos of “snow-covered” mountains in Ras Al Khaimah and parts of Sharjah and Fujairah after a hailstorm hit the northern emirates on Saturday.
Heavy rain was also reported in Umm Al Quwain and light to moderate rainfall fell in Dubai, Ajman, Al Ain and parts of Abu Dhabi, although the capital was clear by the afternoon.
Dubai Police said yesterday that 581 road accidents had been reported in the previous 24 hours. They also received 12,573 calls.
“Most accidents during these weather conditions are caused by fog and low visibility,” said Lt Col Turki Abdul Rahman bin Fares, the director of the command and control unit at Dubai Police.
Col Bin Fares urged drivers to maintain safe distances between vehicles and to ensure their windshields were clean before venturing out on to the road.
Unsettled weather conditions are expected to continue until today with the chance of rain over the northern and eastern areas of the country.
In the next few days, temperatures are expected to range between 27°C and 18°C in Abu Dhabi and 28°C and 20°C in Dubai.
Temperatures along the coast will range between 27°C and 13°C and between 17°C and 5°C in the mountains.
Almost 600 road accidents have been reported in Dubai alone as hailstorms and heavy rain continue to lash parts of the UAE.
The National Centre of Meteorology and Seismology has warned that the winter weather will continue through today.
The weather bureau also said that 10 cloud-seeding operations had been conducted on Saturday, with more expected yesterday.
Residents flooded social media with photos and videos of “snow-covered” mountains in Ras Al Khaimah and parts of Sharjah and Fujairah after a hailstorm hit the northern emirates on Saturday.
Hail was reported on Jebel Jais in RAK, Dibba and Maliha in Fujairah, and Al Bataeh area in Sharjah.
Houses, roads and wadis in Fujairah, Kalba and Khor Fakkan were flooded by heavy rain while authorities warned motorists to proceed with caution and avoid valleys.
Fujairah police yesterday closed the Yabsa bypass road in both directions because of a landslide and advised the public not to leave home unless it was necessary.
Heavy rain was also reported in Umm Al Quwain, and light to moderate rainfall fell in Dubai, Ajman, Al Ain and parts of Abu Dhabi. Police urge drivers to reduce speed during heavy rain to avoid acqua planing and skidding on wet roads.
Dubai Police said yesterday that 581 road accidents were reported in the previous 24 hours because of the unstable weather conditions. They also received 12,573 calls.
“Most accidents occur during these weather conditions are caused by fog and low visibility,” said Lt-Col Turki bin Fares, the director of the command and control unit at Dubai Police.
Col bin Fares urged drivers to ensure their windshields are clean before hitting the road, and maintain a safe distance from the car in front.
Five cloud-seeding planes have, since the start of the year, carried out 235 cloud-seeding operations. It involves shooting flares of salt crystals into selected clouds in the hope that it will trigger more rainfall.
When convective, or towering, clouds are detected, the weather bureau monitors the formations with radar and satellite images.
It then gives a pilot the projected position of the cloud and its updraft, and where to fire the flares containing the seeding material.
In theory, water vapour then condenses around these salt particles, crystallises to form ice and then falls as rain.
The bureau is still collecting data on how much rain has fallen over the past few days. Rain-enhancement operations have largely focused on the mountainous areas in the north-east of the country.
The cloud-seeding programme began in the 1990s. Planes were busy when storms hit the country this year and in March last year. But it is hard to prove exactly how much rain the seeding stimulates.
“Cloud seeding is very complicated, especially when you are trying to compare between years,” said Dr Ahmad Habib, a meteorologist with the bureau.
The UN has predicted that half of the world’s population will be short of water by 2030. The UAE has a very low annual rainfall and groundwater supplies are being depleted.
The country launched the Research Programme for Rain Enhancement in 2015 to find new ways to increase rainfall. It offers an annual US$5 million (Dh18.3m) grant to be shared by five winning scientific proposals, with the winners of this year’s grant to be announced in January.
The agency says only natural salts and no harmful chemicals are used in the process.
The unstable weather conditions are expected to continue until today with the chance of rain over the northern and the eastern areas of the country.
The bureau said the unstable weather conditions would subside by this afternoon while the cloud cover would gradually decrease.
But it said there remained a chance of some rainfall, especially over the northern and eastern areas.
By this afternoon, winds will reach a speed of 45kph over the coast because of the cloud activity.
However, that is expected to calm down by tomorrow.
Fair to partly cloudy weather is expected tomorrow, while humidity is likely to increase during the night and early morning over some inland areas with a chance of mist.
During the coming days, temperatures are expected to range between 27°C and 18°C in Abu Dhabi, and 28°C and 20°C in Dubai. Temperatures along the coast will range between 27°C and 13°C, and 17°C to 5°C in the mountains.
Conditions will be moderate to rough in the Arabian Gulf and Sea of Oman.