Heavy rain, hail till Friday, says PACA

Heavy to moderate rain and hail are expected in northern governorates of the sultanate due to the low pressure expected from Wednesday, January 22 evening to Friday, January 24. From Friday, mercury is expected to dip further as most of Oman will witness northwesterly wind resulting in frost formation over mountains, and dusty wind over deserts and open areas.

A statement issued online by the Public Authority for Civil Aviation (PACA) said, ‘Weather analysis by the National Multi Hazard Early Warning Centre indicates that a trough of low pressure will affect the northern governorates from Wednesday evening, January 22 to Friday, January 24. There are chances of rain and thundershowers accompanied with fresh downdraft winds, hail, and wadis (flash floods) over Musandam.’

PACA said that weather will be partly cloudy with chances of isolated rain over Buraimi and the governorates along the Sea of Oman. Moreover, the sea state will be moderate along most of Oman’s coasts with maximum wave height at 2m.

Following the passage of the trough, a fresh (15-30 knots) northwesterly wind will affect most of the governorates starting on Friday evening (January 24) leading to a noticeable drop in air temperature, frost formation over mountains and dusty wind over deserts and open areas. ‘We advise all to take precaution during rain and to check the sea state before sailing.’

PACA added that although the sultanate in the past few days has witnessed below average minimum temperatures, it did not break the record minimum temperatures that were witnessed in previous years with the exception of Saiq. On January 16, 2020, the temperature recorded at Saiq was -0.5°C, while the average minimum for Saiq is usually around 7.3°C.

On Monday, Saiq recorded the lowest temperature at 4.4°C, followed by Yanqul (9.7°C), Al Mazyouna (10.8°C), Dhank (10.9°C) and Thumrait (11.7°C).