Brief rainstorm hits UAE

Brief rainstorm hits UAE
By Mahmood Saberi, Senior Reporter GULF NEWS Published: May 06, 2008, 08:53

Dubai: The skies grew dark and gave a brief display of thunder and lightning but there were only a few spots of rain as commuters headed to work early morning on Tuesday.

The Dubai Met office sent out a brief warning to sailors and those working offshore but everything cleared up quickly, said Dr S K Gupta, duty forecaster. “There was no significant rain,” he said.

But the spots of rain and gusty winds left dirt marks on vehicles and dirtied overnight washing hanging out on the clotheslines.

Late Monday night many people woke up in surprise as heavy thunder and isolated rain showers hit Ruwais and some areas of Abu Dhabi.

The thunder activity was because of the rising high temperatures and a band of cloud coming in from the West, where Bahrain and Doha earlier experienced thunder, said the forecaster.

For the first time the mercury rose past 40 degrees Celsius, according to Gupta. Dubai on Monday recorded 43C, Jebel Ali, 42C, Sharjah, 44C and Abu Dhabi, 43C.

A Shammal will hit the UAE on Wednesday bringing dusty conditions and haze. The gusty winds will whip up waves of 15 to 25 feet offshore. But temperatures will go down significantly to around 36C.