The Peninsula Online
Doha: On its weather report for the weekend, Qatar Meteorology Department (QMD) forecast hot daytime with scattered clouds and a chance of rain, may be thundery, with slight dust to blowing dust at times, followed by mild weather conditions at night.
On Friday, QMD also warned about expected thunderstorms associated with strong wind at some places inshore. Recently, QMD had also announced that the Al Wasmi season is set to begin tomorrow (October 16).
In its latest satellite images, QMD indicated the presence of a low pressure area in the Arabian sea and the northern Indian Ocean near Indian coasts, accompanied with bands of convective clouds and high waves.
“It is expected that a deep depression will form during the next 48 hours, according to latest numerical weather prediction charts. It’s worth mentioning that a deep depression gets classified as a tropical storm and gets a name when the wind speed around the center reaches 34 KT,” a statement issued by Gulf Marine Centre in Qatar and posted on QMD’s Twitter said.
Sea heights during the weekend will mainly vary between 1-2 ft inshore. On Saturday, there is a chance that sea heights will reach to 4 ft offshore.
The wind, on Friday, is expected to blow mainly northwesterly to northeasterly at 5 to 15 KT, reaching to 25 KT during thundery rain inshore. On Saturday, the wind is expected to blow northwesterly to northeasterly at 5 to 15 KT.
On Friday, the visibility will mainly vary between 4-8 kilometres and will decrease to 2 kilometres or less during thundery rain inshore. On Saturday, visibility will be 4-8 kilometres.
Given the chance of rain during the weekend, QMD recently shared instructions to ensure safety during this weather condition. The following instructions are:
1. Stay in a safe place and do not stand on rooftops or close to tall trees and utility poles.
2. Avoid open spaces during thunderstorms as it might be accompanied by lightning, heavy rain, high wind, cold flakes, and might cause a lack of vision.
3. While driving, the driver should reduce speed and follow the safety procedures and ensure that the windows are closed, and the windscreen wipers are in proper working order.
4. Avoid using the mobile phone and stay away from watersheds.
To ensure safety indoors during rain and thunderstorms, QMD also recommended the following safety instructions:
1. It’s recommended to disconnect electrical current from the household appliances in case a lightning bolt passed through the home network.
2. Avoid touching or operating electrical devices with wet hands.
At the event of emergency, QMD also stated: “In case someone is struck by lightning, call 999 immediately and ask for help.”
