After the rain comes the chill in Qatar.
The temperature dropped sharply across the country yesterday and similar conditions are likely today, with the forecast saying it will be “very cold by night”.
The Qatar Met department has also said strong winds are expected today along with poor visibility in some areas due to dust. Strong winds and high seas have also been forecast in offshore areas.
Recently, the weather office had said a Siberian high-pressure system was expected to affect the country, accompanied by “northwesterly fresh to strong winds over all areas”.
“As a result, a noticeable drop in temperatures is expected,” the report said, stressing that the chilly winds would make it feel colder.
The minimum temperature had gone up in most places over the past week, hovering around the 18-20C mark, as the country experienced a spell of rain. Yesterday, however, the mercury level dropped significantly and woollens were back in demand.
A minimum temperature of 10C is likely in Al Khor today, followed by 11C in Mesaieed, Wakrah and Abu Samra, and 12C in Doha. The maximum will range from 16-18C in the country, which means the daytime temperature will be reasonably low as well.
Yesterday, a minimum temperature of 13C was recorded in Al Khor, Turayna, Al Rayyan and other places. In and around the capital, it was 14C in the Qatar University area and 16C in the Doha airport and Hamad International Airport areas.
The detailed forecast for inshore areas says mild conditions are likely during the day along with dust in some places at times. It will be very cold by night.
Dusty conditions are also expected in offshore areas at times along with some clouds, while the sea level may rise to 13ft in some places.
The wind speed, meanwhile, will be 10-20 knots (northwesterly) in inshore areas, going up to 25 knots in some places at times. Offshore, it will be 18-25 knots (northwesterly), reaching a high of 33 knots.
Visibility may drop to 3km or lower at times.
The Met department tweeted last evening that “latest observations show low visibility in most areas due to dust with generally cold weather”. Earlier, it said a dust band had reached Bahrain and it was expected to reach northern Qatar within an hour, causing visibility to drop below 3km.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Municipality and Environment (MME) said rain emergency teams had drained out more than 105.8mn gallons of rainwater from different parts of the country until yesterday noon.
This was done in 21,911 batches using 45 pumps and 349 tankers. Some 542 workers and employees were involved in the work.
Weather charts showed that Ghuwairiyah received the maximum rainfall between Friday and yesterday morning at 33.8mm, followed by the Qatar University area at 26.2mm, Hamad International Airport area at 20.6mm and Abu Hamour at 19.9mm.
The downpour, particularly late on Thursday and Friday, left a number of places waterlogged even as the rain emergency teams intensified their efforts to clear the roads.
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