Al Ain: Hail, rain and strong winds hit parts of the UAE on Friday afternoon, giving residents welcome relief from hot summer conditions.
Forecasters are expecting similar unstable weather on Saturday in the eastern and northern emirates.
The weather will be partly cloudy and hazy at times in some areas, with a chance of some towering clouds in eastern emirates. These clouds may extends towards some inland areas, said the National Centre of Meteorology and Seismology (NCMS).
The NCMS also reported heavy rain and a hailstorm in Hamda, Al Maleha, Al Dahid, and Al Fayyah areas of Sharjah.
People in Ras Al Khaimah and Sharjah said heavy rain came down after a spell of sweltering heat. It was accompanied by strong winds and rain water flooded valleys, streets and low-lying areas. Thick black clouds continued to swirl around in the skies with thunder and lightning.
The most affected areas were Al Ghail in Ras Al Khaimah, Al Maleha in Sharjah and Massafi area. Strong winds battered trees, houses and other structures, blowing away signboards, satellite television dishes, makeshift houses and water tanks from the rooftops of houses.
Heavy rain and wind also caused road accidents, but there were no reports of casualties. Motorists were seen driving cautiously despite warnings of unstable weather, fog and poor horizontal visibility from forecasters and traffic police.
