Workers brave the winter chill in warm clothes as they wait for transport in Doha yesterday morning.

DOHA • More chill and rains have been forecast for this morning. The mercury is expected to dip to seven degrees Celsius early today with rains expected to lash parts of Doha and the rest of the country at least until 10am, turning the chill more biting than yesterday, meteorologists said.

"We expect the showers to continue at least until 10am on Wednesday," a forecaster said. Then, there would be a respite from the rains until Sunday. "We expect a dry weather until then. The showers may recur after Sunday."

The minimum temperature witnessed yesterday was nine degrees Celsius, while the maximum was 12 degrees, said the forecaster. However, as for today, the maximum temperature has been forecast at 14 degrees Celsius.

Winds blowing from across the colder north-western regions of Europe are likely to keep the weather colder at least in the early hours today.

According to him, the airport area in Doha received 15.2 millimeters of rainfall between 3am and 9am yesterday.

People across the Gulf faced torrential downpours yesterday, and may soon see a rare snowfall, in a region which traditionally holds prayers to ask for rain.

In the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh, residents said the temperature had fallen to below freezing level – increasing chances that it might snow, an event Saudis usually only see on television or during travels overseas.

In the neighbouring United Arab Emirates, where shops usually do not even sell heaters, snow had been reported earlier in mountainous areas and relentless rain took the country by surprise over the past two days.

Arriving for a visit on Sunday, US President George W Bush carried an umbrella to face the rain at the airport in Abu Dhabi, the UAE's usually hot and sunny capital.

Many roads were flooded in the emirate of Dubai, which attracts sun-hungry tourists with its year-round blue skies. Roofs in some luxury hotels and office blocks were leaking water and several schools asked parents to keep their children home today.

Weather forecasts show that more rain is expected in many parts of the region until the end of the week.

In June, Oman was hit by a cyclone that killed more than 50 people and wrecked havoc in the country, damaging infrastructure and displacing thousands.

Meanwhile many flights were delayed across UAE because of the heavy rain.

Outbound flights from Dubai were delayed by about 40 minutes on average due to flooded areas on the tarmac blocking access to aircraft in the airport zone, according to a report in the local media.

Dubai police control room received emergency calls from more than 10,000 people yesterday morning. The police has asked people not to call unless it’s an emergency.

The Dubai Met office warns of heavy rainfall today and has advised motorists to drive carefully as more roads will be partially submerged by the continuing deluge. The rain in Dubai will surpass the highest recorded over the years of 81.9mm in January, according to duty forecaster Dr S K Gupta, reported Gulf News website.