Midsummer rain a pleasant surprise

Residents of the UAE woke up in surprise to wet streets on Sunday morning, with ‘abnormal’ rain and heavy clouds covering the country, despite being midsummer.

A spokesman for the National Center of Meteorology & Seismology said the ‘unstable’ conditions affecting the UAE started early on Sunday, with a large build-up of cumulous clouds, rain and thunder activity in eastern areas such as Fujairah.

Rain had been moderate to heavy in different regions, with northern and eastern regions bearing the worst of the unexpected downpour.

Speaking on Sunday, the spokesman said more cloud was expected to gradually increase over Dubai throughout the day, and there was “a good chance of light to moderate rain” in the city.

The unsettled weather will continue today, with patches of rain continuing in the north, south and east until Tuesday, with cloud gradually decreasing from this afternoon, he said.

This weather was ‘abnormal’ for this time of the year in the UAE, and even more so because it was coming from the north and northeast, when it would usually come from the direction of Saudi Arabia, he said.

Surprised residents took to Twitter, with many saying this was the first time they had experienced rain in summer. And many welcomed the unusual downpour, such as Deema Deeb, who said: “Summer #rain in #dubai. This is what I call a beautiful morning”, and @the1mary who pointed out: “Only in Dubai: when you flock to the beach in the morning BECAUSE it is raining!” Meanwhile, Khalid Al Jaaidi thought rain was too “impossible”, and someone was “probably holding a water hose on the roof.” -sarah@khaleejtimes.com