Here comes the rain again…

Cancel the perm appointment, hold tight on the deluxe car wash, and put a pin in the picnic plans – because it looks like parts of the country are headed for another (mild) soaking.

That’s according to the National Centre of Meteorology (NCM) whose five-day forecast includes the “probability of light rainfall” over the next 24 hours “especially East and Northward” areas.

In fact, the rain has already started falling this morning in parts of Abu Dhabi…

The weather for the rest of the week is characterised by a continuation of high humidity at night, cloud cover and morning fog. Temperatures are expected to max out at around 28ºC for coastal areas, with base lows of 14ºC.

Uploading to the clouds

Has cloud seeding got anything to do with this current weather we’re experiencing? Possibly. We’re currently in the annual sweet spot for high rainfall, so it’s entirely possible all of it can be ascribed to natural climatic patterns.

However we know that the UAE runs cloud seeding operations to enhance predicted rainfall. When we spoke to Mr. Omar Alyazeedi, deputy director of the National Center of Meteorology (NCM), he told What’s On that the UAE carries out approximately 300 cloud seeding missions annually”.

And if you’ve ever wondered what sorts of cloud are the best for seeding? Alyazeedi explains “while not all types of clouds respond equally to cloud seeding, cumuliform clouds such as cumulus clouds with a heaped shape and strong updraft at their bases are generally considered the most responsive to cloud seeding efforts.”

Images: Provided