Weather fluctuations expected to continue affecting the country

The country is in for a spell of weather fluctuations over the coming days, experiencing rain as well as dusty conditions during this period, the Qatar Met department has said. Today, thundershowers have been forecast in some offshore areas along with strong winds and high seas, and there could be some rain inshore as well. Dusty conditions prevailed in the country for much of yesterday, leading to a drop in visibility at a number of places. Light rain was also reported from some areas.The Met department said in a report there is a chance of scattered light rain in the early hours today. Then, the chances of showers will improve from tomorrow until Saturday afternoon “due to the influence of a surface low pressure associated with an upper-level trough of low pressure”, according to the weather office. The surface wind will be “fresh” tomorrow and on Friday, and could also be strong in some places, resulting in blowing dust at times. Tomorrow, winds will be southeasterly in nature and become northerly on Friday afternoon. In general, the rain will be light to moderate in intensity during this period. The chances of rain were expected to further improve at the beginning of next week, from Sunday (March 19) evening. Today’s detailed forecast also says slight dust is likely in some places at times and it will be cloudy.  Similar conditions are expected in offshore areas, too, and the rain may be thundery in some places by the evening. The wind speed may go up to 25 knots during thundershowers, with the sea level rising to 8ft. A minimum temperature of 19C is expected in Ruwais today, while in Doha it will be 21C. The maximum, on the other hand, will range from 23C to 28C.Yesterday, a minimum temperature of 20C was recorded in Ruwais; in Doha it was 23C. Meanwhile, the maximum varied from 23C to 29C. As had been forecast, dusty weather prevailed in the country for several hours yesterday, leading to a dip in visibility at a number of areas for a while before improving gradually. Cloudy conditions and scattered light rain were also detected in some areas yesterday.The Met department, meanwhile, reissued a list of safety precautions – prepared in co-ordination with the Ministry of Public Health - to be followed during dusty conditions. The advisory can be found on the social media accounts of the department.