UAE weather: Possible heavy rain and thunder in east and south until Saturday

Lightning and thunder also expected over scattered areas of the country

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  Dubai was hit by heavy rain, thunder and dust storms on Saturday. EPA

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  Heavy rain caused flash flooding in several areas. AFP

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  Dubai Municipality said its workers were out in force cleaning up after the stormy conditions. Photo: Dubai Municipality

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  Some trees were blown down. Photo: Dubai Municipality

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  Workers clean up the debris after the storm. Photo: Dubai Municipality

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  Fallen trees are removed from the road. Reuters

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  Workers clear another fallen tree. Reuters

The UAE will see heavy rain and thunder at times over the coming days.

The National Centre of Meteorology said there will be rainfall of varying intensities, with possibly lightning and thunder over scattered areas of the country until Saturday.

It said the worst of the bad weather will affect the east and south, and extend towards some internal areas and the Al Dhafrah region.

In its forecast for Wednesday, the NCM said it will be fair to partly cloudy in general and dusty at times during the day.

Low clouds will appear over the east coast by morning, with a chance of rain by afternoon.

It will be humid on Wednesday night and Thursday morning over some western coastal areas, with a probability of mist formation.

According to global forecaster Windy, there will be stormy weather in Ras Al Khaimah, Hatta and parts of Fujairah around midday on Wednesday, which will clear by the afternoon.

NCM said Thursday will be partly cloudy, with low clouds again over the east coast by morning, with a chance of rain by the afternoon.

The winds will be fresh to strong at times, with clouds causing blowing dust and sand reducing visibility.

It will be humid on Thursday night and Friday morning over some coastal areas with a probability of mist formation.

The Windy maps for Thursday show the stormy conditions returning at around 2pm in Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah.

By 3pm, it shows heavy rain reaching the west coast, including Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Much of the stormy conditions will clear by 6pm, according to Windy, apart from around Hatta and Fujairah, which will clear by 11pm.

Friday will be fair to partly cloudy in general, with a chance of rain in the afternoon in the east and south, extending to some internal areas. The winds will be fresh to strong at times, with clouds causing blowing dust and sand reducing visibility.

On Friday, the Windy maps show rain in Ras Al Khaimah, Abu Dhabi, Ain Ain and the Western region from 1pm onwards, which will clear by evening time.

Saturday will be fair to partly cloudy in general, with a chance of rain in the afternoon in the east and south. The light to moderate winds will freshen at times, causing blowing dust and sand.

On Sunday, it will be fair to partly cloudy, with a probability of rain in the east.

The weather bureau said the inclement weather is due to the Intertropical Convergence Zone affecting the region.

The ITCZ, which is a band of low pressure around the Earth which generally lies near the equator, is moving towards the south of the Emirates and is accompanied by movement of surface and upper low pressure from the south towards the north.

As a result, the flow of moist air mass from the Arabian Sea and Sea of Oman, along with the rise in temperatures during the daytime, will lead to the formation of rainy clouds.

The wind will be moderate and fresh to strong winds at times, particularly with rainy clouds, which will lead to blowing dust and sand and a reduction in visibility.

The rainy clouds are being caused by the movement of surface and upper low pressure from the south towards the north, coupled with the flow of moist air mass from the Arabian Sea and Sea of Oman towards the country, and the rise in temperatures during the daytime.

It was a wet start to the week for many in Dubai and Sharjah following stormy weather over the weekend.

Dubai authorities received more than 100 emergency calls during unstable weather on Saturday, as trees were felled by high winds and roads became waterlogged.

On Sunday, Dubai Municipality announced the temporary closure of public parks from 6pm “due to the prevailing weather”. The parks reopened on Monday.