VIDEO: This is why it rained heavily all across the UAE
- 21 Nov 2019
Adnan Okasha/ Mohamed Alaa/ Emadeddin Khalil, Staff Reporters
The National Centre of Meteorology (NCM) has come out with a video footage showing that it has been carrying out some rain enhancement operations.
The Centre had carried out 29 cloud seeding operations earlier in March.
It said it has stared the programme to better the quality of rain.
The centre said the highest level of rain in the country reached 54.4mm in Ras Ghanadah, Khatam Al Shaklah 44.8mm, Al Quaa 42.2mm, Umm Ghafa 40.8mm, and Umm Al Quwain 38.9mm during Wednesday.
The NCM shared a video on Twitter saying, “Snapshots of raining operations that are still ongoing until the end of the current state of weather…”
The video shows NCM aircraft equipped with special devices carrying out the operations over the clouds, conducting cloud seeding.
The seeding operations are only possible with formation of cumulus clouds. The UAE weather body uses sophisticated surveillance radar to monitor clouds and weather situation across the country.
Meanwhile, the lowest temperature recorded on Thursday over the country was 7.9 °C in Jais Mountain at 06:30am.
It was also reported that heavy fog was spotted over Al Ain Airport and Khalifa College in the Al Ain area.
Heavy rain lashed the UAE on Wednesday, bringing the temperature down by a few notches. Rain started to fall at 12:54am as a result of the UAE being affected by a low depression.
The National Centre of Meteorology (NCM) said Ras Al Khaimah, Sharjah, Fujairah, Umm Al Quwain, Dubai, Ajman, and Abu Dhabi witnessed heavy rainfall. Some areas also reported hailstorms.
The centre said the weather on Thursday is expected to be cloudy to partly cloudy with a chance of rain.
Light to heavy rain fell on various areas in Al Dhafra Region, while light to moderate rains fell on Abu Dhabi Island, Al Saadiyat Island and Al Shawamekh in Abu Dhabi and on Sheikh Zayed Road.
Moderate rain was witnessed on Jebel Ali in Dubai, while heavy rains fell on Ajman, Ras Al Khaimah, , and Umm Al Quwain, Sharjah and various areas on the western coast.
Umm Al Quwain Civil Defence teams rescued a family trapped inside their house due to floods and heavy rain. The family was stuck when water rushed into their home making them immovable.
The NCM called on people to exercise extreme caution while driving their vehicles under rain and low horizontal visibility caused by strong and sand-stirring winds. It also advised people to keep away from flooded areas.
Some clouds are expected to continue to be formed with a chance for rainfall on some western, eastern and northern areas till Sunday, the centre said.
The rain in Ras Al Khaimah damaged traffic lights. The Ras Al Police closed the Jebel Jais road for the second day and the roads leading to the valleys due to floods in many areas including Khatt, A Beeh, Ghalilah and Shaam.
The Department of Public Services announced it had pumped 1.715 million gallons of water up to Wednesday afternoon.
The emergency team dealt with 200 reports on Wednesday evening.
The RAK Police launched 74 traffic patrols to supervise the traffic flow on the emirate’s roads, while the competent authorities closed the Kuwait Street due to the high level of accumulated rainwater.
In Ajman, strong winds damaged the roof of two car showrooms in Al Jurf area.
Lt. Col. Mohammed Mubarak Al-Ghafli, Head of Al-Jurf Police Station, said that a roof fell on cars in Al-Jurf car showroom area due to strong winds accompanied by rain.
A plane of NCM carries out cloud seeding procedure.
Immediately, police and civil defence patrols moved to the scene, where two cars and five buses parked were damaged.
There were no reports of human casualties.
He called on the public and drivers to abide by traffic laws and avoid reckless driving.
The Executive Committee for the Management of Crises and Local Disasters in the Emirate of Sharjah held a meeting on Wednesday.
The meeting was chaired by Brigadier General Dr. Ahmed Saeed Al-Naour, Director General of Central Operations, and in the presence of Brigadier Ahmed Bin Darwish, Director of the Central Region Police Department, to check the readiness of the team in dealing with the current weather conditions.
The meeting reviewed reports prepared by the sub-committees charged with monitoring the situation in the central and eastern regions of the emirate, streets and areas affected by heavy rain in most parts of the country, and the progress of cooperation between police operations teams and the competent local departments, and the measures taken towards them.
The meeting was also briefed on the measures taken and the reports received regarding the situation in the land areas, internal and external roads, some sites affected by the flow in the valleys, and the precautionary measures applied in keeping the public away from dangerous sites and directing drivers to follow the traffic instructions.
Brigadier Abdullah Saif Al Matrooshi, Director General of Police Operations, addressed all drivers and road users, noting the need to take caution while driving in this atmosphere, especially when using roads near the newly constructed buildings, in order to avoid accidents and injuries resulting from the fall of hazardous materials on the roads.
The Ministry of Education said schools in the emirates of Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Fujairah, Ras Al Khaimah, and Umm Al Qaiwain would close to ensure students' safety.
The Abu Dhabi Government Media Office said due to unstable weather conditions, all schools in Abu Dhabi City would be closed on Wednesday, 20 November for students’ safety.