Overview
- Heavy rain, strong winds and near-constant lightning spread across several emirates from Thursday night into Friday, with a strike over the Burj Khalifa captured by the Dubai Media Office.
- Floodwater covered sections of major routes, including parts of Emirates Road and roads near Dubai International Airport, as Ras Al Khaimah police cited overflow from Al Beeh and Qada’a valleys that pushed water onto highways.
- Air travel and public transport faced delays, as Dubai and Abu Dhabi airports urged passengers to check flight status, some RTA bus routes were disrupted, and authorities closed Jebel Jais for safety.
- The National Centre of Meteorology said a slower “main wave” within a low-pressure system pulled in moisture and kept convective storms going, with totals such as 77.5 mm at Shoukah and 65.8 mm at Kalba, and it expects conditions to ease on Saturday.
- Residents reported water in homes, broken windows and stranded cars as municipal crews pumped out streets, police rolled out digital maps of flooded spots and request-aid tools, and experts noted this event was less intense than April 2024’s single-day deluge.