JEDDAH: The Presidency of Meteorology and Environment (PME) said Monday that weather reports forecasting rain in Jeddah Wednesday were not accurate. Hussein Al-Qahtani, spokesman for the PME, said that there were no indicators of rain in Jeddah, but declined to offer a prognosis for Thursday. “The most accurate forecasts are for the next 48 hours,” he said. The PME website, operating again after its regular weather updates failed due to “technical problems” caused by the storms, forecast clear skies until Saturday. International websites had forecast rains in Jeddah at the end of the current week, barely a week after the city was hit by 111 millimeters of rain in under four hours last Wednesday, the highest figure recorded since records began. PME warned of cloud approach five days before the floods. The Presidency of Meteorology and Environment (PME) has said that it sent out warnings of heavy rains last week at least six hours before they hit, in accordance with procedures. Abdullah Al-Jazi', head of the the PME's regional center in Makkah, said that 11 warnings were issued to various government authorities in the Jeddah region. “The early warnings are part of work protocol approved by the Deputy Prime Minister,” Al-Jazi' said. The head of the PME's Analyses and Forecast division said that warnings were sent out concerning the approach of rain clouds five days before the weather struck. “The last warning was sent six hours before the disaster,” said Shaher Al-Hazimi. The PME also has radar systems that observe cloud movements up to 200km away and can forecast the areas over which clouds are likely to rain. The radar observation unit makes 72-hour forecasts based on comprehensive reports.
