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More heavy rains, hail forecast as unstable weather intensifies across UAE
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Watch: Rain-fed water ponds freeze over as UAE records winter’s lowest temperature
One video features icicles on shrubs, while another shows a carpet of green bloom after three days of showers
Photo: Sa'adia Reza
After three days of heavy rains, temperatures in the UAE have dipped to its lowest this winter. The National Centre of Meteorology (NCM) said Jebel Jais — the tallest mountain in the UAE — recorded a near-freezing low of 1.9°C on Sunday morning. The chilly temperature was recorded at 4.15am.
It was so cold on the mountain that rain-fed water ponds at its top froze.
Nizar Ahmed Konnalloor, a Sharjah resident, captured a frozen pond as he trekked 8.5km from the last point on the mountain road:
Ahmed told Khaleej Times that he undertook the four-hour trek with his wife and two friends. “We were very pleasantly surprised to find the water frozen over like that. I have trekked to this spot twice before, but it was a first-time experience for my wife and friends.”
He said there were multiple ponds that had turned into ice. The group made some tea in front of a frozen pond and sipped on its warmth as the sun rose.
A video posted by the Storm Centre shows a man break sheets of ice and place it on an Arabic coffee pot:
Another video posted on Instagram by @fata_al_shohooh shows icicles in the coastal town of Ghalilah, Ras Al Khaimah.
Last week, a white sheet of white covered a desert in Abu Dhabi as icy rains hit the Emirates.
The country received heavy rainfall for three days straight. At the end of it, one station — Al Faqa’a — received 118mm of precipitation. This is significant, considering the UAE records an annual average of 100mm rainfall.
Storm Centre posted a stunning video that shows a valley bloom green after the rains. The video was filmed in Ghalilah:
The weather cleared up this morning. The NCM has not forecast rains for the next five days, but said partly cloudy conditions will prevail. Temperatures are likely to increase on Tuesday, January 31.
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