Exactly one month after the first major rain this year, Qatar experienced another round of showers from Thursday night. The rain continued on Friday, with its strength varying from moderate to heavy in between.

The Met Office has forecast another round of drizzling and as well as thundery rain for today, 'associated with strong wind and low visibility at first.’

While the rain has been moderate in Doha in the morning, it turned out to be very heavy from early evening. Right from 4pm, the rain turned into a downpour that continued for hours.

While Doha received light rains on Thursday night, other parts, especially the northern area, experienced moderate to heavy rains. Several residents of the area said that it was quite heavy in Al Khor and the surrounding areas.

Some Doha residents who had travelled from Al Khor to Doha after Thursday midnight said it was raining rather heavily all through the journey.

“While it was raining heavily in the northern area, it was only a drizzle when we reached Doha around 2am,” said a motorist.

During the morning hours on Friday, it was a cool day with intermittent light drizzle which brought a lot of cheer to the residents, especially for children as they ventured out to enjoy the holiday.

But, the situation changed dramatically late afternoon as heavy rains started lashing Doha forcing everyone indoors. While some low lying areas and roundabouts were flooded, the rain emergency task force personnel were quick to respond to the situation.

The Ministry of Municipality had already made arrangements with several suction trucks kept ready if there was any flooding. Some of the machines were in action in some of the low lying areas where water had accumulated in the afternoon.

The Qatar Met department had on Thursday issued safety tips for the public in view of the unstable weather conditions expected in the country, including Doha, over the weekend.

In a post on its Twitter page, the Met department had advised motorists to drive carefully and reduce speed during the rain. They have been also told not to take pictures with phones or other devices while driving.

The advisory also notes that people should try to get indoors quickly during thunderstorms and, if driving, stop the car at a safe place and keep the windows closed until the storm dissipates.

Residents have also been advised not to venture into the sea until the weather improves. Rain is expected in both inshore and offshore areas.

There is a warning for a thundery rain associated with strong wind and low visibility and the whole country might experience slight drizzling. However, the situation will be partly cloudy to fine weather tomorrow with no particular warning.

Life was thrown out of gear in Qatar on November 25 when the country was lashed with more rain in less than two hours than what it gets in a whole year.

Roads were flooded and many buildings developed leaks in the heavy downpour that lasted from 7am to 8.30am, preceded and followed by a prolonged drizzle.

Source: http://www.gulf-times.com/qatar/178/details/467777/qatar-experiences-second-major-rain-of-the-year

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