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Santhosh Chandran
Doha
Northern parts of Qatar on Monday received heavy rains accompanied by windy and dusty conditions, with visibility dropping to zero in some areas.
Umm Al Amd, Al Shamal and Al Shahaniya areas received heavy rains, according to the Ministry of Interior (MoI) and Qatar Meteorology Department (QMD).
Low visibility due to dust storm interrupted traffic on Orbital Highway in Messaieed and Al Khor as well as on northern roads in Al Shamal.
According to sources, some construction sites in Al Wakra cancelled their night shift due to dust storm and low visibility.
Meanwhile, the VIP opening of the exhibition on Russian fashion collection as part of Qatar-Russia Year of Culture 2018 was postponed until Tuesday (October 16) due to bad weather. The event will be held at Doha Fire Station at 6.30pm, according to sources.
The MoI, QMD and the Public Works Authority (Ashghal) in a series of tweets warned motorists of poor visibility, advising them to be careful while driving.
"Low visibility in most parts of the country due to strong and dusty wind. Please pay attention to the road conditions and do not hesitate to stop your car aside in case of reduced visibility," said the MoI in one of the tweets.
"The latest radar image shows thundery rain north of Al Shahaniya, accompanied by strong, dusty wind causing poor visibility. Please be careful," QMD advised in a tweet.
QMD has forecast moderate to heavy thunder showers accompanied by strong winds in the country from Wednesday until the beginning of the next week.
"Doha is expected to get good rains from Wednesday or Thursday of this week," said Head of Forecasting and Analysis Section at QMD Abdulla Mohammed al Mannai.
"Unstable weather conditions are expected to affect the country due to the extension of a low pressure with good humidity and cooling in the upper atmospheric levels, which will help cloud formation starting Wednesday until the beginning of next week," QMD said.
"Skies are expected to become partly cloudy to cloudy at times with chances of scattered rain of light to moderate intensity. In addition, thundery cells are likely to form in some areas accompanied by moderate to heavy rain and strong wind, causing dusty conditions at times," a statement from QMD said.
QMD has urged everybody, especially fishermen, to be cautious and check weather conditions before going to sea and follow latest updates on its official social media accounts.
