The unexpected storms were due to recent cloud seeding operations…

Certain parts of the UAE were hit with heavy rain and hail storms yesterday, the National Centre of Meteorology (NCM) reports. The UAE’s official weather source shared videos of the unexpected storms thrashing down across parts of Sharjah, Al Ain and Abu Dhabi last night.

NCM cited cloud seeding as the reason for the heavy rain, although the day had been cloudy with high humidity in these parts. A warning was issued to prevent people from walking near wadis and areas where flash flooding may occur, for their own safety.

While most of us in Dubai experienced a peaceful dusk, these videos show areas such as Al Bataeh and Al Madam in Sharjah as well as Al Dhafra in Abu Dhabi with poor visibility, heavy winds, lashing rain and some hail.

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Can we expect any more rain?

Yes, possibly. NCM suggests that we can expect a high probability of convective clouds, which are the type of clouds associated with rainfall, each day this week. The main areas of focus are the eastward emirates, as well as southward parts.


Strong winds of up to 42 kilometres per hour are expected to cause blowing dust and sand, reducing the visibility. Chances are that Dubai will miss most of the rain, but could experience fair to partly cloudy skies, with low clouds along the coast.

Images: NCM Social