UAE weather: Police warn motorists not to endanger lives by photographing rain while driving

Heavy rain fell during the night in various parts of the UAE and more is expected on Friday, with cloudy skies blanketing the country.

Abu Dhabi police warned motorists not to take photographs or videos of the wet weather while driving, saying anyone caught doing so would be fined Dh800 and four traffic points.

Over the weekend, visibility inland is expected to be less than 2,000 metres at times, according to the National Centre of Meteorology.

The centre reported heavy rain over Al Dhafra Area and light rain over Al Ain, Mohammed Bin Zayed city, Al Shawamekh, Al Falah and Al Wathba in Abu Dhabi while moderate rain fell over Al Tarif.

Heavy rain is expected today over parts of Ras Al Khaimah, Fujairah, Al Ain, Al Wathbah and south of Abu Dhabi, while light to moderate rain is expected over Abu Dhabi City, Dubai and Sharjah.

Fresh to strong south-westerly winds will continue through Friday morning reaching 42 kph speed over the coast and 40kph inland.

The temperature in Dubai will range between 27°C to 35°C, in Abu Dhabi from 26°C to 34°C while temperatures along the coast will range between 22°C to 35°C, and 16°C to 29°C in the mountains.

Humidity is likely to increase during night and Saturday morning over some internal areas with a chance of mist formation.

Seas on Saturday will be moderate becoming rough in the Arabian Gulf due to cloud activity and moderate in the Sea of Oman.

The lowest temperature recorded over the country on Friday morning was 15.3°C in Jebel Jais at 1.30am.

Meanwhile, the UAE's government news agency WAM reported that lakes and dams across the country had filled with rainwater.

It said runoff from hills and valleys had also increased groundwater reserves in the Emirate.

In a statement, the Ministry of Energy and Industry said: "Rains boosted the amount of water stored by reservoirs in the country's Central and Eastern Regions.

"The lakes of a number of dams, including Al Qoor, Buraq, Al Khaliban, Al Mastab, and Al Maneii in the Central Region as well as Al Hail Dam in the Eastern Zone were filled with rainwater."