Temperatures drop as heavy rain and hailstorm hit parts of UAE

​Residents saw moderate to heavy rainfall in parts of the United Arab Emirates, as well as a hailstorm in Ras Al Khaimah on November 10, 2019. Temperatures also dropped significantly throughout the country.

Hails in the northern emirate of Ras Al Khaimah crashed on cars and roads, blanketing areas with a white sheet of ice.

In a footage posted on UAE Storm Center's social media account, the area of Al Tuwaiyin is shown covered in hailstones.

Dr. Ahmad Habib, a senior forecaster at the National Center of Meteorology (NCM), said the incident is totally appropriate for this time of the year because the country is undergoing a bout of unstable weather. He added that the northern emirate area is likely to see more rain and hail as the day progresses.

"On Sunday, we can expect a chance of convective clouds after midday over scattered areas, accompanied [by] heavy rain, hail, and thunder," said Habib. "The country is going through unstable weather and is developing from the sea, and is gradually spreading over coastal areas, and will possibly affect Abu Dhabi and Dubai."

Habib continued, "It will also extend to parts of northern and eastern areas of the country.”

The forecaster pointed out that the hailstorm that pummelled Ras Al Khaima has not come early as the country is transitioning from summer into winter.

"During the transitional phase from summer into winter, we have low atmospheric pressure that causes rain. And we expect more rain to come in the coming days."

According to Ahmad Hamad Al Shehhi, an adviser to Ras Al Khaimah's department of public works and also the supervisor of Rain Emergency Committee, 38 500 gallons of rainfall were out from roads and residential areas within 12 hours, which were carried out for more than 77 trips. He added that the department got 15 reports– nine of which were about rain-related incidents, three reports about knocked down trees, and one traffic signal failure.

The sea is expected to remain moderate and rough at times at the Arabian Gulf and the Oman Sea.

NCM has also issued a yellow and red alert until Monday evening, November 11. Weather conditions are expected to get more stable as the weekend comes.

Featured image credit: @storm_centre/Twitter