UAE weather: More rain hits Dubai as cloud-seeding planes take to the skies

Motorists drive in the rain on Al Khail Road in Dubai on Jan 3. All photos: Pawan Singh / The National

The UAE had been receiving unusually large amounts of rain over the weekend.

Traffic under grey skies and rain on Hessa Street in Dubai.

The National Centre of Meteorology said downpours, strong winds and leaden skies were expected.

Dubai and Abu Dhabi were hit by intense storms with torrential rain deluging the cities, along with thunder and lightning.

Latest: Final burst of rain before cool and dry weekend ahead

More rain hit Dubai and other Emirates on Monday as forecasters warned the UAE is in for several more days of wet weather.

The National Centre of Meteorology said downpours, strong winds and leaden skies could be expected until Wednesday, if not for longer.

Powerful gusts of up to 60 kilometres per hour could sweep across the UAE until Tuesday, reducing visibility, throwing up dust clouds and causing rough conditions in the Arabian Gulf, the forecast showed.

The NCM also said cloud-seeding planes are in action to try to coax more rain to fall.

"The country is affected by unstable weather due to an extension of a surface low pressure, accompanied by an upper air low pressure from the west," the NCM said.

It follows a bout of wet conditions that swept across the Emirates from Friday.

Dubai and Abu Dhabi were hit by intense storms with torrential rain deluging the cities along with thunder and lightning.

Almost 18 months' worth of rain fell in the UAE in the space of just three days.

Since December 30, Saih Al Salam in Dubai, which includes Al Qudra Lakes, Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park and Bab Al Shams Desert Resort & Spa, has recorded 141.8mm of rain.

On average, the UAE records about 100 millimetres of precipitation a year.

Collapsed ceilings, leaking doors and blocked drains were reported in some homes after the New Year storm struck Dubai.

The UAE's cloud-seeding planes have also been in action coinciding with downpours across the Emirates.

The NCM's seeding programme does not create rain but tries to enhance it.

Seeding involves shooting crystals such as salt into the clouds. Salt naturally attracts water. The water particles then collide with each other and hopefully fall as rain.

How much rainfall is generated is hard to quantify, with the NCM saying more studies are needed.

"I don't think we've seen rain like this since 2019," Dr Abdulla Al Bahri, a forecaster at the NCM, told Dubai Eye radio station on Monday. "It's natural and some of it is [because of] cloud seeding."

Aftermath of the UAE storm - in pictures