Summer afternoon thunderstorms have been raging accross Oman mountains, UAE mountains and interior areas over the last few days. Brief period of heavy rain, hail, high winds, and falling temperatures accompany such localized thunderstorms. Dust storms usually form nearby the storms due to high winds kicking up dust. Tuesday could bring even more summer afternoon showers and thunderstorms to parts of Al Ain and western interior areas, and surrounding places.
Hajar mountains over Oman and the UAE play a key role in lifting air upward. Aided with the high levels of surface temperatures, dew points, rising air condenses through lifting by mountains, and with enough lifitng to break through any stable layer of air, the condensed clouds reach an existing unstable layer of air aloft. Only then it continues its vertical ascent, forming afternoon thunderstorms nearby mountains. Such mountainous thunderstorms are a regular event during the summer months in UAE and Oman, yet residents who live in major cities usually don’t know of such weather events. A few afternoon thunderstorms formed along [ Read More ]
A period of enhanced convective precipiation is expected to start on Sunday April 10th, 2011 and continue for a few days over the Arabian Gulf, and parts of the UAE, northern Oman, Qatar, Bahrain. Convective precipiation refers to rainfall falling from towering cumulus clouds that often develop into thundershowers and even thunderstorms. Expected rainfall is likely to take on a scattered pattern, which means not all areas will receive rain. The convective activity is expected to shift accross the highlighted area (see above image), from eastern Arabian Gulf and the UAE on some days, to mid Arabian Gulf on other [ Read More ]
April is transitory month between winter and summer. The jet stream is moving northward with longer and warmer days ahead. But northern Arabia remains under the impact of migratory lows. During the next few days, an area of lower upper-air pressure is expected to move across the Mediterranean with a trough extending to Arabia. Coupled with daytime heating, afternoon and evening isloated thundershowers are likely to develop over parts of northern and central Saudi Arabia, possibly Kuwait, and northern Arabian Gulf. Gusty and dusty southerly winds are also likely as dusty winds reached 55 km/hr with reduced visibility.
