All you need to know about snow and rain in UAE

Poor visibility caused many accidents and most of the residents had to sit inside their houses to avoid the dust and cold.

Strong winds, cold wave, rain and sandstorm hit the country on Friday, causing cancellation of big events, closure of a major tourist destination, uprooted trees, snailing traffic and accidents in some parts of the country. 
However, the weather change did not affect flight services much as no regional and international flight delays were reported. An Etihad Airways spokesperson told Khaleej Times: "We're operating normally at this time and no delays to report." An Emirates spokesperson also said that there were "no significant weather-related delays."
One person was injured and three cars were burnt after a crane fell on Dubai's Sheikh Zayed Road, causing a long traffic block. However, personnel from the Dubai Civil Defence and the Dubai Police managed to bring the situation back to normal immediately.
Fire and traffic accidents were reported from various parts of the country after the strong wind. Poor visibility caused many accidents and most of the residents had to sit inside their houses to avoid the dust and cold.
The winds uprooted trees and signages in almost all the emirates.
The Global Village was closed for the day and fourth stage of the Dubai Tour was cancelled because of the weather conditions.
In Abu Dhabi, the weather dropped to a chilly 13 degrees Celsius by 6pm, with heavy dust storms sweeping the motorways.
Visibility was reduced to around two kilometres in many parts of the Capital, according to the National Centre of Meteorology and Seismology (NCMS). Temperatures plunged to lows of 12 degrees Celsius in inlands.
However, some residents braved the cold weather and decided to go to Jebel Jais where the lowest temp was recorded -2.2 degrees Celsius at 9am on Friday morning. However, the police stopped people from going to the highest mountain of the UAE after it got too crowded and many were stuck in Ras Al Khaimah.
The highest wind speed was recorded at 90km/hr in Fujairah coastal area and the lowest horizontal visibility in some parts of Dubai was at 100m. The highest wave was 15 feet in Arabian Gulf.
According to NCMS, the highest amount of rain recorded on Friday was 32.4 mm recorded at Jebel Mebreh in Ras Al Khaimah. The area surrounding RAK Airport also received 15.7 mm of rain.
Saturday's forecast, according to Met, is expected to be partly cloudy to cloudy at times over some areas especially over the north.
Fresh winds during daytime will cause blowing dust with poor visibility at times than will become moderate wind by night. The sea will be rough in Arabian Gulf and moderate to rough at times in Oman Sea.
Sunday will be partly cloudy in general and hazy at times over some areas. There will moderate winds in general and the relative humidity will increase during night and early morning over some internal areas with chance of mist and fog formation. Sea will be moderate to rough in Arabian Gulf and slight to moderate in Oman Sea.
- reporters@khaleejtimes.com