Let’s take a look at some numbers. The charts below show average day-time high temperatures for June and July for the years 2000-2011, recorded at Dubai Airport. Such temperatures might not be representative of other cities especially ones that are not coastal. Dubai city is a coastal city that usually gets affected by a sea breeze that tends to moderate day-time temperatures. Moreover, humidity plays a great role in determining how hot it feels.

One clear observation is that June 2011 ranks as the third hottest June for the period 2000-2011. The same observation applies to July as well as Dubai experienced its third hottest July for the same period. August 2011 rankes as the fourth hottest August for the same period. Again, such average temperatures conceal any extreme temperatures recorded and also don’t account for the impact of humidity.

June, July, and August are considered summer months. September, marking the start of Autumn, brings a small decrease in temperatures but remains generally hot.

Tuesday could bring even more summer afternoon showers and thunderstorms to parts of Al Ain and western interior areas, and surrounding places.

Rain Radar image (from ncms.ae) shows heavy rainfall falling over interior UAE from a summer afternoon thunderstorm.

Satellite image of Aug 29

As odd as it might sound, the summer months are known for spotty afternoon thundershowers over and near the mountains of Oman and the UAE. The last few days brought more afternoon showers to Hajar mountains, and even some interior desert areas of the UAE where confluent winds, extreme heating, and rising air helped break through the otherwise stable atmosphere, resulting in localized and breif afternoon thundershowers. However, such thundershowers pose risk of high winds.

You can see below two interesting areas of thunderstorms erupting over Hajar mountains and western UAE.

Animated IR Satellite image of Aug 20, 2011 shows 2 areas of thunderstorms erupting over UAE/Oman Hajar mountains and western UAE.

A few afternoon thunderstorms formed along the Hajar mountains on Aug 10th, one particluar thunderstorm formed on the western side of UAE Hajar mountains, then it drifted west/southwestward and dumped a lot of rain with gusty winds over some interior areas of the UAE over a brief period. Up to 52.6 mm and 33.4 mm of rain were recorded in Al Faqa and Al Shiweb areas of interior UAE, with wind gusts as high as 93 Km/Hr. Meanwhile, the rest of the UAE is experiencing uncomfortable levels of humidity which is typical of August.

A visible satellite image of Aug 10, 2011 shows a thunderstorm over interior areas of the UAE.

It is July, the heart of summer. Heat levels are incredibly high. Out of the major Gulf cities, Kuwait city is usually the most likely one to hit the 50c mark. In fact, official temperautures recorded were as  high as 50 and 51c on July 14th and 15th, 2011. Yet Kuwait, much of central Saudi Arabia, and other interior areas are less prone to humid air that affect other coastal cities of the UAE, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, and coastal Saudi Arabia. Even though temperatures rarely hit 50c on coastal UAE, high humidity makes it feel much worse. Luckily, several July days have been quite dry in the UAE with less humidity which usually peeks in August and September.

Aside from brief afternoon showers on and near UAE and Oman mountains, the cooler spots of Arabia remain the coastal misty city of Salalah in Oman and the cool southern Aseer mountains of Saudi Arabia where seasonal summer rainfall is quite normal.

Temperatures start their seasonal decline starting September!