A heavy rain outbreak took place between Jan 17 and 19 over the mid Arabian Gulf, Qatar, Bahrain, and central Saudi Arabia. Heaviest rainfall recorded of 158mm in Al Dammam, that is almost 2 years rainfall in one day. Riyadh recorded 61mm while Bahrain and Qatar recorded around 26mm. Several areas recorded similar amounts. The heavy rain resulted in traffic problems and school closure in Riyadh. More than 40 mm of rain in western UAE between Jan 20-22 while highest rainfall in Oman was 78mm in Izki. Meanwhile, Tabuk mountains observed thick snow during the last few days as temperatures [ Read More ]
Archive for January, 2011
The weather pattern across Southwest Asia has started changing starting January 13, 2011. There could be periods of cloudy and rainy weather over the region with some thunderstorms. The recent cold wave is also ending, giving way to milder and warmer weather associated with such clouds and rain. This spell of active weather ended around Jan 22nd. Heaviest rainfall recorded of more than 150mm in Saudi Arabia. The Big Picture: The area shaded blue has a chance of experiencing such conditions. Not all areas will be affected at the same time as low pressure systems travelling eastward result in rainfall [ Read More ]
Forecast for the UAE; Chance of Showers Jan 10-11 Highest rainfall recorded around 5 mm in Alsuweihan on Jan 11th Warmer weather between Jan 7th and 9th as the low pressure over Iran draws more southerly warm winds. Temperatures could hit 30c in interior areas. As it starts crossing Iran, a weak cold front will bring clouds with a chance of showers in the UAE, Arabian Gulf and parts of Oman on Jan 10th and 11th. Cool and and windy (up to 50 Km/hr) on Jan 12, with cooler days and nights affecting the UAE until Jan 14th. Rough sea conditions in the UAE from Monday [ Read More ]
The Middle East is probably the last region that comes into any person’s mind with regard to weather-related fatalities and disasters. Here are notable weather events in the Middle East in 2010, starting and ending with the typically very dry Egypt (!!) : At least 10 fatalities in Egypt due to heavy thunderstorms and flooding rain Jan 17th and 18th Strong thunderstorms resulting in 4 casualities in the UAE on Feb 28th Heavy thunderstorms in Saudi Arabia in April, May, and July which resulted in at least 7 fatalities The infamous cyclone Phet (see above image) killing at least 24 people in Oman [ Read More ]
