VIDEO: Thundershowers throw normal life out of gear in UAE

Gulf Today, Staff Reporter

Thundershowers lashed various areas of the UAE, including Sharjah, on Monday night. It started bucketing down at around 2 in the morning on Tuesday. Pretty soon, the results were evident.

The rain impeded the smooth flow of traffic, which crawled at a snail’s pace on several roads which were flooded. Some of the vehicles were stranded in the middle of the road. Segments of Abu Dhabi and Dubai, including the upscale Jumeirah area, were also affected.

The rain continued through the night until the morning. Residents in the Al Khan area of Sharjah woke up on Tuesday to the sight of overcast skies and flooded roads from their buildings. There were also other areas that were inundated, including Qusais, Dubai, and Al Nahda and Clocktower Roundabout in Sharjah.

The downpour instantly brought the mercury down, and cool winds started blowing much to the delight of the inhabitants.

According to WAM, the Abu Dhabi Police are fully prepared to handle the challenging weather conditions expected in the emirate until April 17. They will be working closely with all relevant authorities to ensure safety of the people.

Emergency plans are at the ready and the police have deployed support patrols, including strengthening manpower in the operations rooms.

The police have urged drivers to be careful and stick to speed limits, maintain a safe distance between vehicles, avoid sudden braking, and slow down when turning to prevent the vehicle from skidding.

The National Centre of Meteorology (NCM) has issued a note on weather conditions across the country over the coming days.

Until Tuesday afternoon, the country will experience convective clouds over coastal areas moving towards Eastern and Western regions. This would mean rain of varying degrees of intensity, followed by lightning and thunder, and a probability of hail in some areas.

From this afternoon till early Wednesday morning, the convective clouds will increase, which spell thundershowers.

The Centre added that, from Wednesday morning to afternoon, some convective clouds will form over coastal areas associated with rainfall and then will concentrate over Eastern and Northern regions, with the clouds gradually decreasing by Wednesday noon.