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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

Wadis overflow after Jabal Akhdar rains

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By Lakshmi Kothaneth — MUSCAT: May 2 - Wadis at the foothills of Jabal Al Akhdar were overflowing due to incessant rains on Tuesday. With the wadis in full flow, motorists parked their vehicles on either side of Wadi Jaber, on Monday evening.

Tourists, who had to catch the flight at Muscat International Airport, waited patiently as water flowed with great speed.


Elders in the crowd told the Observer the wadi takes three to four hours to subside. Salem bin Suleiman al Dhagari, a resident of Jabal Al Akhdar, said: “We do not get rain that often, but today it has been a good day of rain.”


Oman Met Office at the Public Authority for Civil Aviation (PACA) said it was part of the summer rain. “It (rain) is part of the local cloud formation, which is expected to continue for the next two to three days around Hajar Mountains covering Al Dakhiliyah, Al Dhahirah and other areas,” said the Met office.


Khalifa al Badi had come to see Jabal Al Akhdar for the first time from Saham. “I enjoyed the rain, but I did not expect the wadi to overflow.”


Drivers and passengers soon became spectators as they began to capture images of the wadi in full flow.


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Water continued to flow on the roadside until it reached Wadi al Maieden (Birkat Al Mouz), which flows until Nizwa, where Al Maieden Dam is located.

Even as the temperature is rising in the rest of Oman, Jabal Al Akhdar, the Green Mountain of Oman, is celebrating spring. Farmers of Jabal Al Akhdar have begun the harvesting season for roses.


The season makes Jabal Al Akhdar a summer destination for tourists.


Summer rains are also the reason why the spring flourishes in the green mountains. The pomegranate trees have begun to flower and peaches are in the tender stage.


Waterfalls that came alive on either side of the roads became a gushing wadi by the time the water reached the foothills of Jabal Al Akhdar.


With water came the rocks. At the wadi crossing, drivers were waiting with shovels to clear the road.


“A four-wheel drive is essential when driving to Jabal Al Akhdar. Driving is tricky especially when driving down,” said Mukhtar al Hinai from Nizwa.


The Met office (DG of Meteorology) said that convective cloud formation will continue today with chances of scattered afternoon rains and thunder showers in the Hajar Mountains and the Sea of Oman coast.


Thunder showers and scattered rains are also predicted in Dhofar Governorate.


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