UAE authorities warn residents to prepare for wet weekend

UAE authorities have issued a warning to residents, with particularly dangerous weather expected over the coming days.

In a special broadcast on Thursday evening, authorities said the Emirates would be affected by unstable weather, including heavy rain, thunder and lightning, with flooding expected in some parts of the country.

Motorists were advised to prepare for low visibility and flooding on roads, as well as high winds.

Authorities warned fines would be imposed on anyone deemed to be risking their own or others’ lives.

The severe weather is expected to begin on Friday evening and ease off on Sunday.

Al Dhafra and Al Ain are expected to be affected first, followed by Abu Dhabi city, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Fujairah and, finally, Ras Al Khaimah.

The Joint Assessment Team for Weather and Tropical Situations, which is part of the National Emergency, Crisis and Disaster Management Authority (Ncema), held a series of meetings to discuss how to prepare for the anticipated storm.

“We call for caution, avoiding going to the sea, places where valleys flow, where water accumulates, and places where hail falls, and to follow instructions issued by the relevant authorities to avoid any unwanted events, wishing safety for everyone,” the Ncema said in a social media post on Thursday.

The weather warning comes after most of the UAE was hit by storms at the start of the week.

Several regions of the Emirates were hit by thunder, lightning, rain and hail in the space of a few hours on Tuesday, with hailstones in Al Ain causing disruption on the roads.

Global weather forecast website Windy predicts storms will hit the country from 10pm on Friday, before intensifying overnight into Saturday, with heavy showers, thunder and lightning to continue throughout the weekend.

In its weekly bulletin, the National Centre of Meteorology warned of “unstable weather” on Friday, accompanied by “rainfall of different intensities”.