Residents of Abu Dhabi and Dubai awoke early on Monday morning to the sounds of lightning, thunder, and torrential rain. Meanwhile, even before dawn, sections of Abu Dhabi were blanketed in shimmering layers of hail.

A red and amber alert was released by the National Center of Meteorology (NCM) to warn of more rainy weather through six o’clock at night. Westerly air currents, a cold air mass across the nation, and an upper air depression are all blamed for the weather.