THIS winter is expected to be wetter and colder than last year, a senior meteorologist said yesterday. “December is typically cold but there are indications of more rains in the coming weeks and this winter is expected to be wetter with temperature continuing to follow the same trend throughout the month,” said Abdullah al-Mannai, director of the Forecasting and Analysis Office at the Civil Aviation Authority. He explained that during December and January, the temperature will drop and on certain days the sky would be overcast with occasional rain and strong north-westerly wind. Some days will also have haze as well as early morning fog. According to the Civil Aviation Authority’s data, the mean minimum and maximum temperatures for December will be 15 and 24 degrees Celsius, respectively, and that of January will be 12 and 22 degrees C. Last Saturday, Qatar received its first proper rain of the season with hailstones as large as 10mm falling in many parts of Doha. A record rainfall of 4.1mm was registered leaving many low-lying areas flooded. The downpour was believed to be a quick answer to the annual rain prayer offered by HH the Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani and a group of Muslim faithful. Usually, winter begins in December and it gets colder in January. “The prevailing wind throughout winter will be north-westerly causing fall in temperature. This is hoped to continue in the next few weeks,” al-Mannai said. According to the forecast for today, the weather will be fine but the sky cloudy. The temperature will be moderate during midday and relatively cold at night and with chances of scattered rain, the met office said. Yesterday’s minimum temperature was 16 degrees C and today it is expected to rise to 17 degrees C. http://gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=260876&version=1&template_id=36&parent_id=16

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