Dubai: Unstable weather, characterised by rain, rising sand and dust in parts, is set to return to the country starting Wednesday.
The weather instability is due to a trough of a surface low pressure extending from the southwestern part of the Arabian Peninsula, associated with a stream of clouds in the upper levels, according to the National Centre of Meteorology and Seismology.
Check the GulfNews 10-day weather forecast here
The UAE will have partly cloudy skies in general on Wednesday and Thursday but the cloud amount will increase at times over some areas that could bring light rain especially on Thursday, specifically to the west of Abu Dhabi, towards Al Sila, Ruwais, and the western Islands.
Moderate southeast to northeast winds, freshening at times with speeds of 20km/h to 30 km/h, reaching 40 km/h over some areas due to cloud activity, will kick up sand and dust over exposed areas.
The low pressure will deepen and move east-ward on Friday and Saturday, causing cloud amounts to increase occasionally. Towering clouds may bring different intensities of scattered rain, especially towards the east, including the eastern mounts, Al Ain, parts of the northern emirates, and some areas of Abu Dhabi.
Forecasters urged residents to avoid low-lying areas and valleys where waterlogging normally occur.
Besides rain, dusty conditions are likely to prevail as moderate to fresh winds, reaching 55 km/h with cloud activity, will reduce visibility at times over exposed areas.
The Arabian Gulf and Oman Sea are off limits from Wednesday to Saturday as both will be rough.
“Over the few days past, there has been a significant drop in temperature. On Sunday, the mercury was in the middle of 20C over Abu Dhabi and coastal areas, and in general, it was 24C to 27C over most areas,” a forecaster from the National Centre of Meteorology and Seismology (NCMS) told Gulf News. “The significant drop in temperature was due to the north-westerly wind, which is coming from colder areas, and affecting most parts of the UAE. Another factor is the cloud coverage, which leads to the decrease in maximum temperature.”
Temperatures over most areas of the country will start to rise between 3C and 4C, peaking on Wednesday when temperatures could reach up to 33C. The rise is due to the decreasing frequency of the north-westerly wind and decreasing amount of cloud development.
The forecaster said the significant fluctuations in temperature and other meteorological factors are normal at this time of the year as April marks the beginning of the transition season. It is considered as the first transitional month characterised by different surface pressure systems that lead to rapid changes in weather conditions.
The forecaster said residents should expect these fluctuations and weather instability from until halfway through April.
On Tuesday, weathermen are expected fog or mist to form late evening ‘til early morning. Some areas will have fair to partly cloudy skies but the southern areas are expected to have an increase in cloud amount.
On Monday, cloud bands were seen covering most areas of the southern and western areas of the country, including Abu Dhabi, that received light rain. Some stations such as Jebel Jais received 0.6mm of rain while Jebel Mabreh recorded 0.4mm of rain.
Chances of scattered rainfall will be back again from Wednesday to Friday.
