Dust storm reduces visibility

By Samuel Kutty — MUSCAT: March 25 - Yet another low pressure played spoilsport at the weekend as unstable weather forced many people stay indoors. While dust and sand hit several areas reducing visibility to almost 8 per cent, moderate to heavy showers lashed many areas in the country causing flooding across roads and wadis. Satellite images showed a blanket of raincloud over northern parts of Oman and all the way over to the UAE, Qatar and eastern parts of Saudi Arabia. According to an advice from Oman meteorology department, Saturday’s downpour was part of a streak of unstable weather conditions prevailing in the country.

The advisory, while asking people to be cautious, said, “Several areas in the northern governorates in Oman may experience heavy rain with wind at times”. Temperatures dropped across the country with Muscat witnessing average temperatures of 24 to 27 Celsius on Saturday. In Oman Sea, the images showed that onshore waves may reach 3 to 5 feet, while offshore it could be between 6 to 8 feet, reaching 10 feet at times. The forecast advised residents against heading out to sea as the Sea of Oman continues to be rough. Drivers should be cautious due to the wet roads and poor visibility, the forecasters said.