For the past several days, life in Abu Dhabi hasn’t really had the usual “Oh man, it’s pretty hot”-type of vibe to it. Instead of getting blasted by the 35+ deg.C heat, it’s been cloudy, windy and filled with thundershowers – just like it likely is in Toronto right now.

After coming back from a run on the city’s corniche, I noticed that the sky above me was omniously filled with black splotches of clouds, looming below an unusually brown-tinted evening. Loud, thundering booms sounded overhead filled the earth throughout my jog, temporarily cutting out my iPod. “A military exercise,” I thought. “Nothing’s wrong.”

Oh, but as it turned out, I was quite wrong.

I’m told it usually rains for a couple days every now and then here in the UAE but apparently this storm is a doozy. Unfortunately, over one dozen people have died (so far) during the week-long storms due to flash floods, driving accidents, etc. In light of the weather, people are staying inside more, traffic has slowed down from its normal hectic pace and there are ponds of water infiltrating almost every road and intersection. A stark difference to getting dust blown in your face with the sun beaming harshly onto your face.

There’s a great piece in the National by Clive Stevens, a forecaster at the Dubai International Airport weather office who has lived in the region for 30 years, on his experiences in dealing with some rough Middle Eastern weather.

Sitting in the transit lounge of Bahrain airport on my way back to Dubai, I overheard a conversation between two businessmen waiting for their flight. “Weather forecasting in this part of the world must be one of the easiest jobs going,” said one. “Hot and sunny with blue skies every day.”

Unable to resist, I leant forward and introduced myself. “I am that weatherman and it is definitely one of the best jobs in the world.” They were both somewhat taken aback.

As the past few days have shown, however, the job of the weather forecaster can have its moments. And this is a better time than most to offer an insight into how we weathermen of the UAE function, especially under pressure.

As bad as the weather has turned out, it has caused me to fondly recall my time in Toronto, especially last year when it seemed to precipitate at least every weekend. Back then, I was forced to stay indoors with a TV on in the background while surfing feverishly online – basically the same thing I’m doing right now. Ah, some things truly never change.