DUBAI: A thunderstorm brought heavy rain to parts of the UAE on Wednesday, disrupting flights, flooding roads and forcing authorities to close schools the next day. In neighboring Oman, three people died in rain and lightning.

Water poured through ceilings and whipped through streets in Dubai. In Abu Dhabi, the hard rains forced the capital’s stock market to halt trading and close for the day.

Some schools in Abu Dhabi canceled classes Wednesday while those in Dubai closed early.

The rain temporarily halted flights at Abu Dhabi International Airport, the home of Etihad. The rain also delayed some flights at Dubai International Airport, the home of long-haul carrier Emirates.

The UAE’s National Center for Meteorology and Seismology had warned that heavy rains were possible Wednesday. It said the unstable weather likely will continue into Thursday. The rains disrupted the Abu Dhabi Air Expo held at the capital’s Al-Bateen airport.

Images posted on social media showed vehicles half-submerged in flooded streets in Abu Dhabi and gusty winds lashing through palm trees lining the city’s streets.

Others showed shades and construction barriers that had collapsed on cars. In Dubai, police registered more than 250 road accidents by midday.

The country’s annual rainfall stands at 78 mm, more than 15 times less than the amount for an average year in Britain.

“Not #london or #dublin, this is Dubai today after heavy rain!” wrote Andrea Colonnelli on Twitter posting a video of cars wading through a flooded street.

Another video posted on the micro-blogging site showed a man kayaking through a flooded residential area.

“2 days of rain in #Dubai, my neighbor is kayaking,” read one comment.

In Oman, the Education Ministry ordered schools across most of the country closed on Thursday.