Strong winds stir dust in Sharjah.

Syed Shayaan Bakht and Abdulrahman Saeed, Staff Reporter

The UAE has been experiencing strong northwesterly to westerly winds, at a speed of 60km/h, especially in the open areas and sea shores.

The winds were dust stirring and resulted in a decrease in horizontal visibility to less than 300 metres at times over the open areas, especially the north and east.

The sudden change in the weather led to the drop in temperature across the country.

The National Center of Meteorology said that the lowest temperature recorded over the country on Friday was 1.7°C in Jabal Jais (Ras Al Khaimah) at 07:45 UAE Local time.

Road users and motorists are also recommended to exercise precautions and abide by traffic instructions, due to the low to very low horizontal visibility in different areas across the country.

The NCM also warned sea-goers not to venture in to the high waves in the emirates of Sharjah and Umm Al Quwain. In a related context, the Ministry of Interior called on drivers to be careful while driving in unstable weather conditions, stressing the need to leave a safe distance between vehicles, not turn on warning lights while moving, adhere to lane, and abide to the specified speed.

While the General Directorate of Civil Defense urged the public keep a distance of 10 km from the coast, stay away from lighting poles, follow up bulletins and reports issued by the National Centre of Meteorology, stay home until the storm ends, follow the instructions and warnings issued by the authorities and stay away from under construction sites.

For its part, Al Dhafra Municipality called for caution on the roads, as some areas are affected by active winds that raise sand and dirt, urging the public to contact the hotline 993 or via WhatsApp (026788888) in the event of dunes, fallen trees or any emergency.

The NCM also expects that the weather on Saturday to be rather cold during daytime and cold during night, partly cloudy at times. Humid by night and Sunday morning with a probability of mist formation over some inland areas. Northwesterly winds’ speed to decrease gradually, becoming northeasterly over the northern and eastern areas.

They will become moderate to fresh winds, causing blowing dust over some exposed areas during daytime, with the speed of 15 – 25 reaching 40 km/hr.

The sea will be rough to moderate in the Arabian Gulf and moderate in the Oman Sea. As for the weather on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, the NCM expects to be partly cloudy at times especially over some coastal areas. Humid by night and Monday morning with a chance of fog or mist formation over some inland and coastal areas.

Light to moderate northwesterly winds, freshening at times during daytime, with a speed of 15 – 25 reaching 35 km/hr. The sea will moderate to slight in the Arabian Gulf and slight in the Oman Sea.

These winds will continue till Saturday as a result of the state being affected by a surface air depression from the east and a surface high atmospheric pressure from the west, accompanied by an extension of a high atmospheric pressure in the upper atmosphere.

The sea was turbulent in the Arabian Gulf, and the waves reached a height between 7 – 9 / 10 ft near the coast, and between 10-11 feet in depth.

The weather body said that the highest temperature recorded over the country was 22.4°C in Kalba, Sharjah at 11:45 UAE Local Time.