Instagram Storm Chasers Capture Unusual Rainstorms In The Middle East
1,455 views · Published 11 July 2017 · 1:31 · Indexed 21 September 2026
Channel: Vocativ · 2017 · Science & Technology
A popular Instagram/Twitter account from the Emirates documents the extreme and stormy weather hitting the Gulf countries this summer. The page, called “Storm Center,” publishes startling footage taken by local storm chasers, showing how the Middle Eastern desert deals with rainfalls, strong winds, and floods in what should be one of the driest months of the years. The gulf is witnessing a rare weather event and rainfall in peak summer due to a combination of cloud seeding and natural weather phenomena. According to a meteorologist at the UAE National Centre of Meteorology and Seismology NCMS, cloud seeding has successfully brought rains over parts of the country. The rains are a result of the towering cloud formation brought about winds coming from the mountains of Oman and the UAE, combined with high humidity from the seas and the prevalent high temperatures. The current rains come only a week after a brutal wave of heat scorched other parts in the region. Summers in the Gulf states can reach temperatures of around 130 degrees Fahrenheit. "Storm Center" is asking locals to send their own videos through WhatsApp and have also a mobile app to update people on this unusual weather around Middle Eastern countries. Subscribe to Vocativ: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=vocativvideo Find us everywhere else: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Vocativ Twitter: https://twitter.com/vocativ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vocativ/ Snapchat: http://www.snapchat.com/add/vocativ Website: http://www.vocativ.com