Bulletin 16 - March 1982: Abu Dhabi Climatological Summary 1981

Abu Dhabi Climatological Summary 1981

Again excepting a heavy storm on the night of 2/3 May, a dry, dusty year. The storm of 2/3 May also gave a new surface wind extreme with a maximum 10 minute duration wind of 53 knots and a maximum gust of 69 knots.

The Monthly Mean Dry Bulbs were average or slightly above average throughout the year (Mean 27.35°C whilst normal is 26.87°C), but a new extreme Monthly Maximum Temperature of 31.7°C for January was established. The previous Maximum Extreme for January was 30.1°C. Minimum Temperatures were about normal excepting for November when another new extreme of 12.3°C was recorded. Previously this was 13.0°C. The Annual Average Absolute Maximum Wet Bulb Temperature 0 was only 0.33°C above normal.

A very poor start to the year with only 10.0 mm recorded up to end of April, although March had 4 rain days, 3 with more than 1 mm of rain. The storm on the night of 2/3 May produced a total rainfall of 26.3 mm, but this represented the main rainfall of the year as only a further 0.1 mm was recorded subsequently. It is noticeable from the records that the highest 24 hour rainfall for the year is generally about one-third of the total annual rainfall. This year was no exception to this rule -- rather the reverse as the rainfall of the 2/3 May represented 72% of the Total Annual Rainfall.

Although nearly 50% of the year recorded days with visibilities less than 8,000 m due to lifted sand, dust, haze, smoke etc., the number of foggy days was only slightly above average. Sandstorms were reported on 7 occasions, three of them in March and there were only 3 thunderstorm days.