Heavy thunderstorms forecast across parts of Saudi Arabia through Saturday

JEDDAH — Heavy thunderstorms are forecast to persist across parts of the Kingdom until the end of the current week, according to the National Center for Meteorology (NCM). According to an animated map issued by the NCM, based on outputs from the Saudi Numerical Model, light to moderate rain will affect most of southern Asir and areas surrounding Abha, as well as eastern parts of Jazan, starting early Sunday evening. Later in the evening, lighter rain will persist over western parts of Asir and small areas along the western borders of the Riyadh Region before disappearing completely from the Kingdom. No further rain is forecast until late Monday afternoon, when brief light showers are expected over western parts of Asir. By late Tuesday afternoon, light rain is forecast for small areas in southern Asir and southern parts of Makkah for a brief period. On Wednesday afternoon, very light rain is forecast over small areas in the southeastern parts of the Eastern Province, southern parts of Najran and southern parts of Makkah before moving south and leaving the Kingdom. Thursday afternoon will see light rainfall scattered across Asir, along the border between Makkah and Riyadh, and over small areas in southern Najran. Later that afternoon, rainfall will intensify and affect the entirety of eastern Jazan and western Asir, while lighter rain will spread along the border between Riyadh and Makkah. Light showers are also forecast over southeastern parts of the Eastern Province. By Thursday evening, the rain will weaken and spread further north, affecting Al-Baha, southern parts of Makkah, northwestern parts of Riyadh and southeastern parts of Madinah. Rain is forecast to remain over these areas until early Friday morning. Later Friday morning, most of the rain will have disappeared from the Kingdom, with some light showers remaining along the border between the Eastern Province and Najran before disappearing completely until the afternoon. Light rain will then affect small areas in southern Najran and around Taif in Makkah. By late Friday afternoon, the rain will intensify significantly and become concentrated along the west, affecting the entire border between Asir and Jazan and the majority of Al-Baha. As it moves further north into Makkah, it will weaken significantly, affecting Taif and the Holy Capital. By early evening, the rain will weaken and become more scattered across the affected areas while moving further north, reaching northwestern parts of Riyadh and eastern parts of Madinah, with some rain remaining across Asir, Jazan and Al-Baha. Later in the evening, rain will have disappeared completely from Jazan and Asir, while light scattered showers will persist across Al-Baha, Makkah and southern parts of Madinah. Scattered light rain will continue to affect most areas of Makkah until early Saturday morning. By Saturday afternoon, light to moderate rain will affect the entire border between Asir and Jazan and the western parts of Al-Baha before intensifying significantly in those areas. Light showers will also be scattered along the border between Madinah and Makkah. Late in the afternoon, heavier rain will continue to affect Jazan and Asir, while most of Makkah will see lighter, scattered showers. By late Saturday evening and early Sunday morning, all rain is forecast to disappear from the Kingdom.