ABU DHABI // Eight-foot waves in the Arabian Sea on Wednesday have prompted the weather bureau to issue a 48-hour alert for fishermen and warnings for drivers.
The strong north-westerly wind responsible for the high seas are expected to continue, said Sofian Farrah of the National Centre of Meteorology and Seismology.
Winds offshore measured 60 kph and about 50 kph off the Western Region.
They are expected to remain strong until Friday night, Mr Farrah said.
“Don’t go in the sea because it’s rough and this roughness will carry on for the coming 48 hours, and even in Oman Sea we advise people, fisherman, to not go in the sea,” he said.
“Motorists should take precautions on the road, especially during the daytime, because of rising dust and reduced visibility.
“This strong wind raised the dust and reduced the horizontal visibility in some scattered places, with a significant drop in temperature over the Western Region, about 8°C.”
Mr Farrah said that the transition from winter to summer led to the unstable weather, which moved into the region on Wednesday morning.
It layered the atmosphere with a cold air mass resulting in cloud build-up.
The clouds led to very light rainfall over Abu Dhabi and Al Ain.
“It was just enough to cause a wet surface for a little while,” Mr Farrah said.
“On Thursday, we are expecting that this north-westerly wind will carry on causing a slight drop in temperature, keeping the sea rough, specifically over the north of the Arabian Gulf, and this will also raise the dust again over the interior region.”
The weather bureau said temperatures could reach a maximum of 35°C in coastal areas and a low of 23°C.
In interior areas, the temperature could reach a maximum of 40°C – with humidity hitting 95 per cent – and a low of 19°C.
“Now we are at the end of the transitional period between winter and summer and usually we have a sudden change in weather,” Mr Farrah said.
“It usually happens, from unstable weather to stable weather – very quick and very changeable weather.
“It’s a feature of this period.”
rpennington@thenational.ae
