After first rain of season, thundershowers to follow

 Doha received the first rain of the season on Wednesday and more is expected on Thursday, with the Qatar Met department forecasting that thundershowers are likely in parts of the country, accompanied by sudden strong winds.

The weather office has also issued a warning for offshore areas, where strong winds and high seas are expected by this afternoon along with thundery rain in some places.

On Tuesday, the Met department had said in a report that thundery and heavy rain was expected over the weekend as a result of unstable weather conditions. While light rain was reported from parts of Qatar on Tuesday, Doha experienced the first seasonal showers Wednesday with many residents narrating their experiences on social media. Reports of rain came from a number of areas in the afternoon.

The rain is expected to intensify over the next few days, as has been forecast by the Met department. Weather expert Steff Gaulter, who writes for Gulf Times and is a senior meteorologist at Al Jazeera English, also tweeted  that there were chances of rain on Thursday with heavier downpours expected on Friday and Saturday.

Meanwhile, the detailed forecast for inshore areas on Thursday says the wind speed may go up to 25 knots during thundershowers. It will be hazy/misty in some places in the early hours of the day, followed by cloudy conditions, and there is a chance of scattered rain that may become thundery in some areas.

In a tweet late Wednesday evening, the weather office said rain was expected to "resume early on Thursday in northern Qatar, extending gradually over most areas later and becoming thundery at times."

The wind speed in offshore areas will increase to 18-25 knots by the afternoon, reaching a high of 30 knots. Hazy and cloudy conditions are expected in these areas along with scattered rain, which may be thundery at times. The sea level may rise to 10ft in some places during thundershowers.

In view of the expected conditions, the Met department urged people to avoid sea activities from Thursday until the end of Saturday.

A minimum temperature of 15C is expected in Abu Samra Thursday, while in Doha it will be relatively higher at 24C. The maximum, on the other hand, will come down to 26C in Doha, according to the Met department.

On Wednesday, a minimum temperature of 17C was recorded in Abu Samra, followed by 18C in Shehaimiya. In the capital, a minimum of 21C was recorded in the Qatar University area. The maximum, meanwhile, was 29C at the Doha airport and Qatar University areas, Al Rayyan and other places.

As seen on GulfTimes  Image Credits GulfTimes