Rain and unstable weather are set to persist across the UAE until Friday night, with the heaviest activity expected to move from western parts of the country into Abu Dhabi, Dubai, the northern coast, Al Ain and eastern areas before conditions begin to ease. Forecasters say the worst of the system should fade later on Friday, though cloud cover and unsettled skies may continue into the weekend. The National Centre of Meteorology said the main weather front was concentrated over the far western regions when the latest alert was issued on 26 March, where heavy rainfall had already been recorded in scattered locations. It said the effects were expected to extend into Abu Dhabi between 1am and 3am on Friday, before pushing towards Dubai, the northern coast and southern interior districts, with northern and eastern areas and Al Ain due to be affected between 4am and 5am. The centre said rain clouds could continue forming over scattered areas, bringing rainfall ranging from moderate to heavy at times through Friday night.
That timeline broadly matched the pattern seen through the week, as weather bands developed first over western areas and then tracked inland and eastward. Khaleej Times, citing NCM guidance, said the fresh wave due from Thursday night into Friday would bring thunderstorms, strong winds, blowing dust and the possibility of hail in some places during more intense cloud activity. Forecasts also pointed to a gradual decline in rainfall intensity by Friday night, even as unsettled cloud conditions remained over parts of the country.
By Saturday, authorities said the period of unstable weather had ended and conditions had stabilised nationwide. A meeting of the Joint Assessment Team for Meteorological and Tropical Situations, involving the National Emergency, Crisis and Disasters Management Authority, the Ministry of Interior and the NCM, reviewed the latest weather developments and confirmed that the disturbance had passed. That official declaration, however, did not mean a full return to clear spring conditions across the board, as post-storm effects such as lower temperatures, rough seas and patchy cloud remained part of the short-term outlook.
Weekend conditions were expected to turn fair to partly cloudy in general, according to follow-up forecasts, with temperatures held down by the aftermath of the storm system. Khaleej Times reported that Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah were all expected to record daytime highs of around 25C on Sunday, while winds could still strengthen at times over northern and eastern areas, lifting dust and sand. The sea state was also forecast to stay rough in the Arabian Gulf and rough in the Oman Sea, underlining that the weather system’s effects were likely to outlast the heaviest rain itself.
The outlook beyond the weekend suggests that the atmosphere may not settle for long. In its 28 March update, the NCM said the country would see a noticeable drop in temperatures, followed by a period of relative stability, before rainfall chances returned from midweek through 1 April. Its five-day bulletin published on 29 March projected fair to partly cloudy weather on Monday 30 March, before a chance of light to moderate rainfall over scattered areas on Tuesday 31 March and Wednesday 1 April. Wednesday’s forecast also allowed for heavier showers in northern and eastern areas during the day.
That matters because officials and residents are treating every major spell of rain through the lens of April 2024, when record downpours caused widespread flooding and severe disruption. The National noted that the March 2026 system arrived almost two years after the UAE’s heaviest recorded rainfall, which prompted a major review of drainage, response and public-safety planning. Dubai has since advanced the Dh30 billion Tasreef drainage project, due for completion in 2033, as part of efforts to reduce the impact of future extreme rainfall.
Scientists are also paying closer attention to whether such episodes are becoming more frequent or more intense. The National cited researchers from Khalifa University and the NCM as saying the UAE now experiences up to two more stormy days a year than it did in 2000, with warmer air able to hold more moisture and feed severe convection and heavier rainfall. That does not make every wet spell extraordinary, but it does sharpen scrutiny of short-range forecasting, infrastructure resilience and public messaging when unstable conditions begin to build.
Topics
Spotlight