DOHA: Surprise showers yesterday brought respite to people in Qatar who have for long been braving high heat and humidity.
There were intermittent rains in different parts of the country, especially in the north, south-western, eastern and central areas all through the day yesterday.
The rains were accompanied with thunder and high wind and even hailstones at some places. Dukhan witnessed sandstorm at first and later, heavy rains.
The Met office has forecast light rains today with thunder and said they may, though, be restricted to afternoon and some areas in the south of the country.
In Doha, many places remained dry despite the wet weather and some witnessed drizzles. The areas near Family Food Centre were wet while areas near Lulu Hypermarket were dry by later afternoon. In the Industrial Area and far-off suburbs some people claimed there were hailstones as well.
People in the affected areas, such as Dukhan and the North, which witnessed heavy rains intermittently took to social media and posted photographs of the main road (Dukhan highway) submerged under knee-deep water.
.gif)
People were happy as the Met office had forecast a longer spell of heat and humidity this summer. A senior weather analyst said yesterday’s rains were a harbinger of changing weather.
The Ministry of Interior yesterday posted warnings on its twitter account asking motorists to be careful while driving due to low visibility in some areas.
Enthused by the changing weather, a large number of families turned out at the Corniche to enjoy the weather.
There were no rains here, though, only drizzles. People were seen taking boat rides. In Muaither’s suburb, the rains were heavy and some residents even reported having seen hailstones.
One resident from Industrial Area even mailed this newspaper photographs of a pair of lumps of clear ice he claimed to have collected during precipitation.
In some places the water logging seemed to be deeper as evidenced from submerged vehicles.
Local Arabic daily Al Arab reported that many citizens were critical of the authorities concerned and said they wondered why the highway being new had no proper drainage.
“Qatar Deserves Better,” wrote some commentators making fun of the Public Works Authority’s slogan on its logo.
However, people were generally taken in unawares by the rains, although the Met office has been posting on its website forecasts about possible showers for a few days.
In its routine forecast faxed to this newspaper on Thursday, though, no warning was issued, although the Met office casually said there was some possibility of rains with thunder the following day. No special bulletin was issued as is the practice with the Met office on such occasions.
Contacted for comment, senior weather researcher and analyst Abdullah Al Mannai, said this was not the first time it had rained in Qatar before the middle of September.
“It usually rains here between September and November,” said Al Mannai in remarks to this newspaper.
He said yesterday’s rains should be taken as a harbinger of changing weather. “This is the transition time from summer to winter,” said Al Mannai. As for rains lashing Qatar by September-end, that happened in 2012.
The welcome rains brought some respite from the high heat with day temperatures that were in their highs of late 30s and early 40s C. The maximum temperature forecast for today is between 38 (Mesaieed, Al Wakra, Doha, 39 degrees C) and 41 degrees C in Dukhan and Abu Samra. The minimum, on the other hand, is between 29 degrees C (Dukhan) and 32 degrees C (Doha).
The Peninsula
