Hailstorm in Kuwait

Kuwait, one of the driest countries in the world, is still recovering from an astonishing bout of torrential rain, squally winds and giant hailstones which battered this desert state in recent days. Twice as much rain fell on Wednesday than the average level for the whole of the year. The rainfall totals were remarkable and probably unprecedented, with Kuwait airport reporting 302mm and Kuwait City 258mm of rain in 30 hours up to 9am local time on Thursday.

Weather experts said cold air from central Europe had encountered very warm, moist air from the Gulf. This, combined with a slow-moving area of low pressure, had fuelled explosive cloud development and the subsequent storms. Children squealed with delight as they collected and swallowed the pebble-sized hailstones. The hailstorm fascinated people in Kuwait, as many had not witnessed such a phenomenon before.

The high aloft has prevented this W.D. from moving into the sub-continent. It has gone far north and as of now almost dissolved. Thus the prevelent pre monsoon low is as such not "damaged" by this strong W.D. which , could have moved into India, if conditions were similar to that of last year.