KUWAIT: A picture taken yesterday showing rain clouds over Kuwait. - KUNA

By Ben Garcia

KUWAIT: The rainy season has been delayed for a couple of days or even weeks, which is yet another sign of Kuwait's ever unpredictable weather, according to a veteran Kuwaiti meteorologist. "We expected this kind of weather from the end of October to early November, but Al-Wasem season was delayed," said Adel Saadoun, meteorologist at Al-Fintas Observatory. While Kuwait has witnessed some drizzles of rain over the past couple of days, this 'rainy weather' is a far cry from heavy rains the country has seen in the past few years.

According to Saadoun, the delay in rain could be an indication of an especially cold winter. "There are some thunderstorms and lightning in the morning these days, which isn't unexpected at this time of the year," he said, commenting on yesterday's rain. "Delays for the entry of Al-Wasem season are normal, but it could be an indication that we could have a very cold winter," he added.

The winter season officially begins December 6 and lasts through February, but according to Saadoun, we can still expect the weather to continue being unpredictable. "You may predict and show some data, but you cannot be perfectly correct. No one in the world; not even the greatest weather expert could predict the weather with full accuracy," he said. "There could be more rain in the coming weeks. Maybe we'll witness another cold weather this year," he added.

The period between December 5 and January 15 is normally cold and dry with strong westerly wind. Maximum temperature reaches around 13 degrees centigrade, and the minimum may reach 3.3 degrees centigrade, except for warm intervals resulting from the blowing of south easterly wind, in which maximum temperature could reach 23 degrees centigrade. "Normally we experience foggy mornings with zero visibility sometimes," Saadoun said.

"From January 16 to February 15, we can also experience rainy days especially if south easterly winds affect the whole country. This period sometimes brings dust storms. Watch out for January as temperature could record subzero levels," he warned. The record minimum temperature during the season reached -4° centigrade on January 20, 1964 at Kuwait International Airport.