Cloudy skies and rain ahead

Cloudy skies and rain ahead Nissar Hoath / 22 April 2013 The whole UAE will witness light to moderate rain on Tuesday with skies covered with thick clouds across the country, according to the National Centre for Metereology and Seismology (NCMS). “Skies will be clearer on Monday compared to Sunday, that witnessed cloudy skies with partial and scattered light to moderate rain across some parts of the country, particularly in the central region,” spokesman from NMCS told Kheleej Times. He further added Suweihan, near Al Ain, witnessed the maximum downpour of record rain reaching 5.6mm: “Elsewhere, including Abu Dhabi, the rain fall was recorded at up to 2.7mm.” He also said the situation, with a brief break on Monday, will continue on Tuesday and Wednesday with more showers and thunderstorms and lightening activities across the country: “More rain and cloudy weather is expected on Tuesday,” he said. Referring to the weather witnessed on Sunday, the spokesman said nine NCMS stations recorded light to moderate rainfall across the country with the entire country under thick clouds. He also said the change caused the temperatures to drop by 4 to 7 degrees Celsius in various parts of the country, providing residents with pleasant weather conditions. “Even Dubai witnessed light to moderate rain coupled with thunder and lightening activities on Sunday morning. Abu Dhabi city and its suburbs also witnessed a light to moderate downpour on Saturday evening and early on Sunday morning,” he added. Residents across the country reported pleasant weather on Saturday and Sunday, with cloudy skies and temperatures down. Hassan Abdul Rahim from Al Ain said the drizzling in the city and its suburbs throughout the day on Sunday made for a pleasant change: “Though the sun was out, there was light rain in many parts of the city. Jebel Hafeet witnessed more light to moderate rain on Sunday. The entire area is under cool clouds even now,” he said. Elok Hoath from Ghantoot said they enjoyed the heavy rainfall on Sunday morning. “We started witnessing thick and dark clouds gathering on Saturday. But on Sunday morning  it rained well, though (only) for a few minutes, removing all the dust that gathered after strong winds on Saturday and before the rain. The weather is really nice and cool still cloudy and we see no sun,” he said. A resident from Liwa Oasis, Ghulam Rasul, also reported a similar weather condition, saying the temperature was cool and pleasant: “It was windy but no sandstorm. It was drizzling on Saturday and Sunday morning , and the weather is beautiful with clouds over the sand dunes. It is really nice and I hope it continues throughout the summer,” he added. Amani on Sir Bani Yas Island in the Western Region of Abu Dhabi Emirate also reported a welcome change in the weather condition: “The clouds started gathering on Saturday. This Sunday morning we experienced little drizzle that also dropped the temperature. The weather is so nice that we don’t need air-conditioning. The entire area is still under cloud since yesterday, and I hope it will continue for the next few days.” nissar@khaleejtimes.com Taylor Scott International