‘Waterspout’ seen in Ras Laffan

Updated – PHOTOS: By: Shabina S. Khatri | 13 hours agoView as "Clean Read" | 9 Comments Qatar residents have been posting on Twitter and Facebook this afternoon about a funnel-shaped form in the northern industrial zone of Ras Laffan. But concerns about a hurricane or cyclone hitting the country are unfounded, the Qatar Meteorology Department has told Doha News. A forecaster said that what residents saw might have been “low, thundery clouds.” But Steff Gaulter, senior meteorologist for Al Jazeera English, told Doha News that while tornados are rare for this region, due to the need for a big contrast of hot air and cold air, they do happen: “From the images here, it looks like this was a fair weather waterspout. They’re usually about 50 meters in diameter, and last for about 5 or 10 minutes. They usually have winds of about 80kph in the center, so even though they’re called ‘fair weather waterspouts’, they can still be harmful to boats, or people if they ever drift onshore.” On Twitter, residents expressed relief that whatever it was passed them by pretty quickly, by about 5pm: MET forecasts rain all week for Qatar By: Shabina S. Khatri | 19 hours agoView as "Clean Read" | 14 Comments 2.1k SHARES EmailU Print Photo for illustrative purposes only. BinHanif/Flickr Photo for illustrative purposes only. Cooler temperatures and damper days are on the horizon for residents of Qatar, with the MET forecasting thunderstorms as early as this afternoon. In a statement on its website, the MET said: “Cloudy and unstable condition resulting in rain that may be thundery at times. The wind is expected to be Northeasterly – Southeasterly light to moderate in speed, but gusting to strong near any thundery showers associated with high seas.” Speaking to Doha News, a forecaster said the rain would concentrate mostly on the northern parts of Qatar, but that Doha was also likely to see some drops. She added that there will be light rain on Saturday, that will continue throughout the week and pick up next weekend. Steff Gaulter, senior meteorologist at Al Jazeera English, said the weather front coming to Doha has been heading south, and has already caused flooding in Baghdad and heavy rain in Iran. She added in a message to Doha News: “It’ll mostly bring rain to the other side of the Gulf, but there’s just a tiny chance of a shower in Doha tonight.” Meanwhile, the precipitation is expected to cool down the weather, with the maximum temperature for today forecasted at 31C, tomorrow at 30C and Saturday at 29C. On Sunday, the Emir and others in Qatar gathered to pray for rain as per an Islamic tradition during dry conditions. At the time, the MET said that there was no precipitation in the 10-day forecast. Thoughts?