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More rains, low visibility forecast for today Haseeb Haider / 16 March 2014 Sharjah received even heavier rainfall, with the Sharjah International Airport recording 2.6mm rainfall. The UAE received heavy rainfall on Friday night and the early hours of Saturday, with more rainfall predicted in the eastern and northern parts of the country today. The wind will be moderate to fresh, reducing visibility over open land due to the blowing of dust and sand. A dip in temperature tempted the adventurous to take water bike rides at Al Mamzar beach on Saturday. — KT photo by Shihab According to the National Centre of Meteorology and Seismology (NCMS), the northwesterly winds, which is predicted to accelerate in the night over the western region on Saturday, will extend to the rest of the country, bringing the temperatures down by 5-7 degrees Celsius. On Friday, Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah and its adjoining areas received sudden showers of rain. Some areas experienced hailstorms as well. Abu Dhabi’s Suwaihan got 34.6mm rainfall, followed by Ashab which got 30.8mm rainfall. Heavy rainfalls and hailstorm lashed Dubai, with the city’s airport recording 0.6mm rainfall. Sharjah received even heavier rainfall, with the Sharjah International Airport recording 2.6mm rainfall. Parts of Ras Al Khaimah, Fujairah and Al Ain also received heavy rainfall in the early hours of Saturday. After a rainy Friday in the capital, residents woke up to a sunny Saturday. NCMS has predicted partly cloudy to cloudy skies, saying the amount of clouds will increase over scattered areas with different intensity of rainfall especially over northern and eastern areas of the country. Sea will be rough over the Arabian Gulf and sea of Oman. – haseeb@khaleejtimes.com 5 minutes of rain, 2,020 distress calls! Amira Agarib The sudden short spell of rain and hailstorm that lashed the city on Friday night saw 2,020 calls being made to the Dubai Police Operation Room within a span of three hours. The calls were made from 9pm to midnight. Comparatively, on Thursday the police received 1,100 calls during the same time. Brigadier Omer Mohammed Al Shamsi, director of the Command and Control Room of the Dubai Police, said the police also guided motorists through its Twitter account. He said the storm continued for just five minutes. No major accidents were reported from Dubai roads except for one collision between two cars that occurred at around 1.30am on Shaikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road. The collision took place on Al Manama Bridge in which one of the cars overturned and caught fire, causing serious injury to the driver, an Emirati. Two bodies found in valley Al Shamsi said the police also responded to a distress call from an Omani driver (with Oman number plate) after his vehicle veered off the Hatta-Oman road and slipped into a valley filled with water. The police rushed to the spot but found only his damaged car. Later, on Saturday morning, the police found two bodies of a man and a woman from the accident site. The Dubai Police in coordination with the Oman Police are investigating whether the bodies found were of the occupants of the Omani car that fell into the valley. news@khaleejtimes.com For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Taylor Scott International
Taylor Scott International, Taylor Scott
