Showers cool off Riyadh residents

Riyadh and its surrounding areas experienced some moderate rainfall on Wednesday evening providing a much needed relief from the searing heat in the Saudi capital with mercury levels touching 44 degrees Celsius a week ago.
The sky was overcast on Tuesday evening and the city experienced light drizzle but it was not enough to provide succor from the heat.
Riyadh residents were jubilant as the rainfall has resulted in a substantial drop in the rising mercury level and dust storms pervading the city.
“The overcast sky in the afternoon and moderate to heavy rainfall here provided the much sought after relief to the city dwellers from the discomfort of the scorching sunshine during the day,” said Abdulwahid, a student.
Another local Abdullah Ahmad told Arab News, “The weather has been perfect since the previous evening with no heavy rain or high winds. The weather is really beautiful.” However, the downpour also caused traffic snarls on some busy roads in the capital such as King Fahad road, Olaiyya Street and Khurais road where cars crawled at snail’s pace due to the wet roads.