The Sultanate gets another week of rain. The trough of low pressure as part of the winter weather system arrived with a still look of a cloudy day on Sunday morning. Clouds dipped low hiding at times on the tops of the mountains and in certain places it was just the slight silhouettes that was visible. The day seemed hazy but it very humid.Abdullah al Balushi of the National Multi Hazard Early Warning Centre (NMHEWC). By afternoon just as the Met Office had predicted the drizzles began in Al Ansab, Qurum, Rustaq and other governorates in the northern part of the Sultanate with Dima al Watain, North Sharqiyah receiving the highest amount of rainfall on Sunday.From Monday, Oman can expect rains with occasional thundershowers, said Al Balushi.
“All of the northern governorates including the northern part of Al Wusta will experience the effect of the trough. This system is different from last week as there would not be so many hail storms. There is a chance for hail but not so much as last week,” said Al Balushi. “On Tuesday a gap is expected — the low pressure system will provide more rain over Hajar Mountains and some rain to be experienced in the coastal areas. On Wednesday the chances of rain are high from afternoon until Thursday evening. By Friday high pressure sets in and by evening there should be clear sky, said the weather expert. The latest weather analysis shows that the Sultanate will be affected by an upper air trough with chance of convective thunder clouds development over Al Hajar Mountians. “The system will continue until Friday.”
So what is the source of these systems Oman has been experiencing lately? “What we are experiencing is the westerly disturbance that comes from west of Oman going all the way to the area of Mediterranean Sea. In winter (January and February) all the systems come from this area. But when it March and April the system becomes very sensitive and brings in heavy rain. Most of the GCC countries are experiencing similar weather but Oman has one exception — a mountain barrier and that is Al Hajjar. “When the system reaches Oman the mountain range it results in orographic rainfall. Al Hajjar Range begins from Musandam all the way till Sharqiya North. Muscat is on the Eastern side of Al Hajar Mountains but not really within the range where as Rustaq and other wilayats are in the influence of the mountains,” explained Al Balushi.
Last week Northern part of Oman was loaded with hail storms that many people felt hard to believe. “My office place has just moved to Barka and driving through the hail storm was something totally different. The weather in Barka was totally crazy. I have never seen or driven in a weather like that before. Everyone was driving extremely slow as it was an extremely dangerous situation. Lot of people pulled over deciding not to drive. We could not see out of our wind screen. It was a tough hour of drive that needed a lot of concentration, but I was impressed with everyone practicing safe driving,” said Stacey Ross.
This trough of low pressure is not expected to have that many hail storms. But people are happy that it is March and northern part of Oman is still receiving rains. “I am really happy. The rains have cooled everything down,” said Ross. Sea is expected to be moderate to rough along the coasts of Musandam and Oman Sea with maximum wave height of 2-3 meters. Officials at Public Authority of Civil Aviation requested the road users to be cautious while driving in the rain. They have also requested not to cross wadis.
Source: OmanObserver