Saudi Arabia civil defence issues alert as thunderstorms, rains lash Makkah, Madinah

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Saudi Arabia’s General Directorate of Civil Defense has issued an alert as the kingdom’s regions are lashed by rain and thunderstorms.

Heavy rain and thunderstorms are forecast in most regions in the kingdom from Friday until Tuesday. Heavy rain arrived in the city of Al Namas in Asir province on Monday morning, a day after a hailstorm hit an area near Abha, the provincial capital.

Saudi Arabia weather forecast

The National Centre of Meteorology (NCM) forecasted heavy cloud cover over Tabuk, Madinah, Riyadh, Qassim and the Eastern Province, with heavy rain expected in Najran, Jizan, Makkah, and Al Baha, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.

According to the NCM, moderate and torrential thundershowers, accompanied by strong winds mixed with dust are still forecast for some parts of Jazan, Asir, Baha, Makkah, and Madinah regions, reducing visibility.

Thundershowers, accompanied by strong winds are still forecast for some parts of Tabuk and Najran regions.

Winds will be northwesterly to westerly in the northern part of the country, registering a speed of 20 to 50 kilometres per hour, and northwesterly to southwesterly in the central and southern parts, registering a speed of 15 to 30 kilometres per hour with thunderstorms.

In the Arabian Gulf, winds will be northwesterly to westerly in the northern part, registering a speed of 12 to 34 kilometres per hour and southeasterly to southwesterly in the southern part, registering a speed of 10 to 30 kilometres per hour.

Thunderstorms lash Makkah

The holy city of Makkah has been lashed by heavy rains and thunderstorms since Monday. Pilgrims shared visuals of flooding in the city.

Storm at Makkah tul Mukarramah’s Masjid Al Haram. May Allah keep us all safe. Ameen pic.twitter.com/O5tTkLBU23

— Mariyam Sofi (@mariyam_sofi) August 24, 2023

The pilgrimage site lit up on the evening of August 22 with lightning strikes. Visitors captured the stunning sight and shared it on various social media platforms.

WATCH ? Massive lightning strikes Clock Tower in Mecca (Makkah)

Weather storm #WeatherUpdate #weatheralert #Thunderstorms #lightning

pic.twitter.com/NTTuGTggHG

— Zainab Umair (@xainab_Umair) August 23, 2023

Hailstorm in Asir

The kingdom‘s Asir region was hit by a hailstorm on August 21. Residents welcomed the storm as the temperatures cooled down following weeks of extremely high summer temperatures.

Temperatures in the southwestern city of Al Baha fell to 26 degrees C on Monday, SPA said.

بردية مركز طبب الان?

#عسير pic.twitter.com/zrwubXqTSd

— عسير _(كل جديد) (@F3M20000) August 20, 2023