One person died and 47 others were rescued after heavy rains fell on parts of Makkah Province on Sunday.

The highway connecting Rabigh and Yanbu and Alhada to Almahani in Taif Province were closed due to dangerous flood conditions.

Col. Saeed Sarhan of the Civil Defense said their crews were busy monitoring the flood levels in the area and were involved in many evacuations and rescue of citizens affected by high floodwaters.

Rescue operations were carried out by ground and aircrews in Rabigh, Alkamil and Alabwa’ in Makkah Province. The remains of one unidentified person were found near the Civil Defense station in the area.

The Civil Defense are monitoring the Bathan, Shawan and Alabab dams and report water levels are close to reaching maximum capacity.

The General Administration of Meteorology expects a build up of rainclouds on the southwestern and western highlands in the afternoon for the next few days. Fog is expected during the night and early morning on coastal cities on the Red Sea and the Arabian Gulf, as well as in northern part of the kingdom.

Husain Algahtani, spokesman for the General Administration of Meteorology, said rainfall reached 22 millimeters in Jeddah and 16 millimeters in Madinah. He said the reports of 300 millimeters of rain on international sites were inaccurate.

Algahtani said seasonal factors are creating instability in the weather and more rain and wind are expected.

Shari Albogami, a spokesman from King Abdul Aziz University, said the university predicts 20 millimeters of rainfall this year. He said temperatures would be lower than usual especially in northern parts of the central region and northeast.

Many schools in the region are also keeping a close eye on the weather. Muhammad bin Hasan Al Shamarani, General Directorate of Education in Taif, said the boys and girls’ schools in Almahani and Alfirai’, north of Taif Province, were closed on Monday.

Meanwhile, moderate to heavy rains lashed many parts of the Eastern Province yesterday sending cheer among a population that experienced a particularly harsh summer this year.

The early morning deluge prompted some schools to declare a holiday. Since the skies opened up just after morning prayers, there was not much chaos on the roads and highways in Alkhobar and Dammam.

According to an official from the Presidency of Meteorology and Environment (PME), Hafr Al-Batin and Al-Rafha, cities that are not in the immediate proximity of Dammam or Alkhobar, experienced heavy rains on Monday as well as on Tuesday.

“The skies have now cleared and we see no possibility of rain in any part of the Eastern Province until Monday,” the PME spokesman told Arab News. “This is the norm for this time of year. The weather is progressing according to its usual pattern,” he said For the last few days, temperatures have dropped considerably and the pleasant weather has seen a high number of families at the well-kept beaches and green parks in Dammam and Alkhobar, making merry and having fun.

“The Corniche has really come alive,” said Sultan Al-Qahtani, a high school teacher. “The evenings are so pleasant these days that you just want to stay there forever.”

According to the PME spokesman, the region will see considerable rainfall next week.

“That might lead to an even further drop in temperatures,” he said. “That is when the heaters will be out,” he said

Rains are seen as a blessing because they transform the desert landscape and everything turns green.

Among the schools that declared holiday yesterday was Al-Majd.

“I woke up to heavy rains on Tuesday morning and before I started packing, I thought of checking out the school website … That is when I realized that our school had declared a holiday for the day,” said Ansar Haider, an 11th grader. “Of course, I was thrilled beyond words; it doesn’t rain here often, does it?”

Haider was not the only one to be thrilled and excited. Facebook and Twitter buzzed throughout the day with comments and pictures that men and women were sharing about the rains.

“What a relief,” gushed Sania Qamar, a homemaker, on her Facebook page. “This reminds me of the good old rainy days in Karachi,” she wrote. Her down-memory-lane comments prompted her friends to wax eloquent on the pleasant weather.