Rains on Saturday 9 March to mark peak of current weather conditions

Muscat: The latest weather maps and analysis conducted by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) indicate that the atmosphere of the Sultanate of Oman will continue to experience impacts of an air depression signaled by thunderstorms of varying intensity (20 to 50 mm) in the governorates of South Al Sharqiyah and Al Wusta, as well as sporadic rains along the Al Hajar Mountains.

Jaifer Hamad Al Busaidi, a meteorologist at the Civil Aviation Authority, told Oman News Agency (ONA) that the depression is set to begin with thunderstorms (30 to 60 mm), accompanied by hailstones and active downward winds, with effect from noon tomorrow along Al Hajar Mountains and in the governorates of Musandam, Al Buraimi, North Al Batinah, and A’Dhahirah.

The depression will then spread out to the governorates of South Al Batinah and Al Dakhiliyah, Muscat, North Al Sharqiyah and South Al Sharqiyah—with gusty winds spiralling in the desert areas of Al Wusta and Dhofar Governorates, Al Busaidi added.

Al Busaidi pointed that the weather condition will peak after midnight on Friday and Saturday morning, as heavy thunderstorms are expected to make dramatic prevalence until the evening of Saturday. The wet downpour is due to bring about showers ranging between 30 and 150 millimeters

This will be accompanied with flash floods hitting in valleys and low-lying areas, as well as a hailstorm and active to very fast downward winds (25 to 50 knots), Al Busaidi observed. He warned that a natural outcome would be the fall or uprooting of trees, electricity poles and unstable objects, notably in the governorates of Musandam, Al-Dhahirah, Al Buraimi, and North Al Batinah.

Al Busaidi added that the governorates of South Al Batinah, Muscat, A’Dakhiliyah, North Al Sharqiyah and South Al Sharqiyah will experience sporadic rains, as well as thunderstorms accompanied by hailstones and active downward winds.

Al Wusta and Dhofar governorates will experience scattered rains (20 to 50 mm) that might continue sporadically on Sunday throughout the Sultanate of Oman, said Al Busaidi.