Many Dubai residents woke up to loud thunderclaps and lightning, early on Monday morning, at around 3.45am, as moderate to heavy rainfall fell across the emirate. Meanwhile, heavy rain and hail was reported in various parts of Abu Dhabi.

According the Met office, hail was recorded in the Al Dhafrah region, Al Wathba, Mohamed Bin Zayed City, and Sweihan in Al Ain, between 3.36am and 5.15am.

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The National Center of Meteorology (NCM) issued an orange weather alert indicating unstable weather to continue across the UAE, with rainy clouds covering most parts of the UAE till 6pm, today.

"Convective clouds, associated with rainfall of different intensities with lightning, thunder, hail and strong winds over some internal and coastal areas, from 4am until 6pm on Monday, February 12," an NCM alert read.

Convective clouds, which look similar to cotton balls piled on top of one another, are ideal for cloud seeding. The NCM monitors these clouds as they move over the country and dispatches cloud seeding flights , in order to maximise rainfall over the country.

According to an NCM spokesperson, the intensity of rain will decrease by afternoon, and chance of rain will decrease by tonight.

This period of unstable weather is being caused as a result of "an extension of an upper air depression, accompanied by a cold air mass, and a westerly air currents, with different amounts of clouds flowing over the country from the West," according to the NCM.

"As a result of a gradual deepening of the upper air depression, the amount of clouds increase over separate areas," the forecast added.