Rain, unstable weather forecast in Saudi

RIYADH: A top Saudi scientist on Friday issued an alert about unstable weather conditions in next few days, warning about moderate to heavy rainfall, thunderstorms and fluctuating temperatures in parts of the Kingdom.

Mansour Al-Mazroui, director of the Center of Excellence for Climate Change Research at King Abdul Aziz University, said that the whole Arabian Gulf region will be affected by severe weather conditions for a week from now.

He said there is a chance for varying amounts of showers associated with thunder, urging the masses to take the precautionary measure.

“The rainy days in the Kingdom will begin Thursday in the central, eastern and southwestern regions,” said the scientist, adding that rainfall will continue until November 28.

Riyadh witnessed intermittent drizzling which began on Thursday morning.

The capital city is likely to be lashed by rains, while other regions, including the holy city of Makkah, will be affected by wetter weather, said Al-Mazroui. The intensity of rainfall will be moderate, however, some regions may receive heavy rainfall.

On the extent of rainfall, thunderstorms and sandstorms, he said, “There are chances of rain, dust and thunderstorms in a number of places in the northern, northeastern, western, southwestern eastern and central parts of the Kingdom during the forecast period.”

“Day temperatures are likely to drop significantly due to this trough in the northern, central, western, northwestern and eastern parts.”

There are chances of rain and thunderstorms over the holy city of Madinah, Taif, Abha, Bisha, Rafah, Qassim, Riyadh, Dammam and Jubail, according to Al-Mazroui.

A number of other cities including Riyadh, Jazan and Baha will also be affected by rain and storms on Saturday. “Another significant rainfall system is likely to approach Jeddah and southwestern region on November 30.”

Mansour Al-Mazroui, who is part of a team that prepares the national strategic plan for environmental technology in the KSA, said that people in the Kingdom and most of the GCC countries like Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, and to some extent the UAE, are experiencing winter rainfall in the last week of November, and that minimum temperatures are likely to drop below 0°C in the northern and northeastern parts of Saudi Arabia.

The Saudi Directorate General of Civil Defense has also issued an alert about the intense weather that will continue through Tuesday.

Cautioning its citizens, the US Embassy in Riyadh urged all Americans to use the weather warning as an opportunity to assess their emergency preparedness.

A message posted on the US Embassy website urged all US nationals “to prepare for inclement weather.”