Emirates Meteorology Blog » Winter

Videos of Feb 27, 2010 Severe Thunderstorm in the UAE

Ahmed — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 07:46:51 +0000

2 amazing videp clips of Feb 27, 2010 severe thunderstorm that killed 4 people in Dubai/Sharjah, and dumped 36mm (1.4 inch) in 90 minutes in Sharjah. The 2 videos were shot in Dubai.

Did you like this winter in the UAE?!

Ahmed — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 15:56:31 +0000

Rain and storm clouds deprating Dubai, UAE on Mar 2nd, 2010 (from GulfNews.com)

Winter is really gone I guess, but it didn’t depart before sending more rain & storm clouds. The photo above best explains how mother nature can deliver wild changing weather, and definetely chaging seasons as well. While Spring has started in the UAE, the window of rain continues until early April. But with increasing temperature, winter has become shorter in the UAE. Considering that past average high in March is 25c in Dubai, we are now recording average highs of around 30c or more in March over the last few years.

What to expect next: increasing temperature with a small chance of low pressure systems making a comeback during Spring. In 2009, storms and heavy rain affected the UAE between Mar 25 and Apr 10th. I hope history repeats itself.

How do I rate this winter?! It has certainly been one of the warmest winters I have experienced in the UAE. But there were several rain events that saved this winter from being a bad one I guess.

What do you think about this winter?!

UAE issues Severe Weather Warning

Ahmed — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 16:24:30 +0000

Severe weather warning has been issued in anticipation of powerful thunderstorms from Monday night till late Tuesday.

The cold front hit the UAE with thunderstorms and gusty winds, dumping more than 60 mm of rain in Dhudna and Masafi, and around 50 mm in Ghantout. Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Sharjah received around 40, 22, and 35 mm of rain.

Thunderstorms have also hit Qatar, Oman, the Arabian Gulf, and Gulf of Oman.

Image source: Gulfnews.com

More storms and heavy rain in the UAE on Monday – Tuesday March 1-2, 2010 – Watch out for severe weather

Ahmed — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 05:35:03 +0000

The UAE is getting ready for another round of thunderstorms!

A strong cold front is going to arrive to the UAE on Monday (PM) and will result in widespread periods of rain with periods of heavy rain and heavy thunderstorms. Again, every thunderstorm can be capable of producing hailstones, torrential rain, and strong winds. Northern UAE is at risk, but evey spot in the UAE can get severe weather. Parts of Oman, the Arabian Gulf, Gulf of Oman, and southern Iran are also at risk of heavy rain.=”text-align: center;”>

Rainfall forecast. Dark blue indicates heavy rain.

Video: Heavy Thunderstorms Wreck Havoc on the UAE

Ahmed — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 19:02:15 +0000

See youtube videos of the storm here and here.

The storms resulted in 4 casualties.

Extreme thunderstorms in various parts of the UAE have paralyzed life with torrential rain, hail, high winds, and lightning strikes.

Eastern and Northern emirates including Dubai were hit hard. Sharjah city received the highest amount of 36 mm of rain in just 2 hours.

image source: GulfNews

Summer Meets Winter; Showers and Thunderstorms in the UAE & Oman Feb 27-28, 2010; Severe Weather Possible March 1-2, 2010

Ahmed — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 12:38:55 +0000

Surface lows and fronts on Fri Feb 26 2010

An upper low is currently over the middeteranian countries which brought rain showers and thunderstorms there including some heavy showers to Egypt. There are also rain and thunderstorms over parts of Iraq, Iran, NW Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.

Currently hot weather with southerly winds are affecting the UAE & Oman. It feels like summer here in the UAE with temperatures hovering in mid 30s. Right now the cold front (blue) is unable to cause any rain/thunderstorms formation due to interaction with dry air. On Saturday/Sunday it will result in thunderstorms and rain showers over many parts of the UAE (especially north) and northern Oman (Slight chance of rain in Bahrain and Qatar). Some thunderstorms could be strong. Rainfall amounts could be anywhere between 1 to 25 mm.

Spring starts on March 1st, 2010 with a collision between summer and winter with heavy rain and thunderstorms in the UAE.

Speculation of the next Low in Arabia

Ahmed — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 13:25:43 +0000

Feb 26, 2010 Update:

Saturday to bring showers and thunderstorms to the UAE and then northen Oman on Sunday.

Late Monday to Tuesday there is risk of very heavy rain and strong thunderstorms in parts of the UAE and Oman.

Feb 24, 2010 Update:

It seems that there will be 2 waves of rain affecting the region. The first one being on Saturday with impact on the UAE. There will be possibly some scattered showers and a few thunderstorms on parts of the UAE along the Arabian Gulf. Then the impact might move to eastern UAE and Oman early Sunday.

The 2nd wave of rain could contain heavy thunderstorms forming on Monday till Tuesday. Some models predicitng it to hit the UAE and others show Oman as a target. Some models predict the storms to be exceptionally heavy with lots of rain.

Friday could be hot with temperaturs raching 35 with the possibility of a sandstorm.

In all cases UAE and Oman should keep an eye on the developing weather.

Saturday Feb 27 2010 500mb upper air heights. Tight contours around the UAE.

Tuesday Mar 2nd, 2010 500mb upper air heights. The upper low gets closer to the UAE and Oman

Feb 21, 2010 Update

This post is going to be continuously updated and it is about the possibility of a spring low pressure system that could impact various parts of the Arabian Peninsula.

I’m must emphasize that I’m more than 50% confident of thunderstorm and rain formation somewhere over thr Arabian Gulf sometime between Feb 27 and March 2nd. However, I’m less than 40% sure of the impact on the UAE. The weather models are not agreeing on a certain scenario so far!

We shall wait and see.

Expect very warm weather on Friday Feb 26, as a developing low forces winds to blow from the south, before the potential arrival of an active cold front!

Where is my Cool February?!

Ahmed — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 14:32:50 +0000

A high pressure blocking the arrival of low pressure systems

The weather will take on a warming trend during the next several days across the Arabian Peninsula with above average temperatures.

Day time temperature to hover around late 20s or even early 30s in inland areas
Average February high temperature is 25c!
Very settled weather with foggy mornings
For how long? Quite long I guess
We need a storm to break this stagnant weather pattern and the walls of an ugly High pressure system roaming around
Expect a change in weather patterns by late February or after 20th Feb during which long-term forecasts are calling for the arrival of weather troughs creating the potential for unstable weather conditions
We are nearing the end of winter in the UAE in terms of temperature. But rain-wise, the chance continues till late March, a month known for violent thunderstorms should they occur

Heavy Thunderstorms Hit Ras Al Khaymah (UAE) and Oman Feb 5-7, 2010

Ahmed — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 16:38:41 +0000

RAK Wadis flooded Feb 6 2010 (image source: GulfNews)

The cold front that has swept through the UAE and Oman generated a widespread cloud cover with showers in some parts of the UAE. However, in northern UAE especially in Ras Al Khaymah heavy thunderstorms produced heavy rain and flooded the wadis there, resulting in 2 casualities and forcing the authorities to rescue more than 300 people stranded in RAK Wadis. Rainfall amounts exceeded 60mm in some parts of RAK.

Clouds hugging UAE mountains Feb 6 2010 (image source: GulfNews)

IR Satellite image at 18:30 GMT on Feb 5th, 2010 as clouds appraoch the UAE & Oman

Later the cold front entered Oman and produced widespread rainfall and some heavy storms. Rain extended from northern to southern Oman (Salalah) which rarely receives winter rain. Similar to what happened in the UAE, 2 people died in Oman with many being stranded in Wadis.

The cold front also produced a few showers in Qatar, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia before affecting the UAE & Oman. Heavy rain also fell over the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman.

As the cold front left the region, cooler and gusty conditions (around 50 Km/hr in Bahrain) took place with colder nights with Sharjah airport recording 8c at 7AM on Feb 9, 2010. Other gulf countries experienced cold conditions as daytime temperatures struggled to exceed mid teens.

A cold front to bring showers to the UAE and heavy rain to Oman Feb 5 – 7, 2010

Ahmed — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 13:59:58 +0000

After those hot and dusty winter days, a cold front will affect the UAE on Friday with chance of showers and thunderstorms on Friday and Saturday Feb 5-6, 2010. Higher chance offshore (Arabian and Gulf of Oman), and along the northern coasts.

On Sunday the same cold front could deliver heavy rain to Oman and parts of Eastern UAE.

Cooler weather to follow.