UAE residents cancel weekend plans due to inclement weather

The UAE experienced cold and wet weather on Friday. Wind speeds were as high as 70 kph. Dust caused poor visibility.

The bad weather forced some families and residents to cancel their weekend plans and stay home for their own safety.

An Egyptian family living in the Khalidiya area of Abu Dhabi had planned to go for a picnic in Fujairah on Friday afternoon but they had to cancel the programme because of the weather.

"We had arranged to go for a picnic near Fujairah mountains with my family and my in-laws and spend the day there," said 32-year-old Mohammed Salem.

"But we had to cancel the arrangement after I read warnings of rain and poor visibility because of the dust storm this morning."

Kenneth Wefafa, a Kenyan expat in Abu Dhabi, said he and his old friends from Dubai had planned a get together and BBQ party near Jabel Hafeet in Al Ain but they decided to postpone the event after warnings about the bad weather.

"With the rains, sand storms, we just couldn't risk driving to Al Ain for our safety and had to push our programme to next weekend," he said.

The National Centre of Meteorology and Seismology (NCMS) in Abu Dhabi said strong winds with speeds of 50-70 kph caused blowing dust that reduced visibility to less than 500 metres in some parts of the country.

The weather forecaster said the unsettled weather is expected to continue through Saturday with some mild rain.

Temperatures were predicted to fall by as much as 5°C from Saturday.

"There will be cloudy conditions and light to moderate rain over the northern areas as well as the islands and along parts of the coast into Saturday morning," said an official from the NCMS.

"South-easterly to north-easterly wind will affect the country but will be moderate to fresh and will cause poor visibility of less 1,000m at times."

The official said the unsettled conditions are caused by low pressure across the central and eastern Arabian Peninsula.

The average temperatures will be between 24°C and 30°C along the coast, up to a maximum of 32°C inland.

Officials also warned that the Arabian Gulf and the Oman Sea will be rough.

Fishermen and beach goers have been warned against venturing into the sea.

Police across the UAE warned motorists to drive carefully in the current bad weather to avoid accidents.

"Please drive carefully and be aware of your surroundings during weather changes as driving can be challenging," Abu Dhabi Police said on Twitter.

No major accidents were reported in Abu Dhabi as a result of the bad weather.

Dubai Police tweeted: "Motorists are urged to drive carefully due to decreased visibility caused by winds blowing dust."
ismail@khaleejtimes.com

• Abu Dhabi