The skies over Jeddah will be clear from Tuesday, but the authorities predicted cold, rainy weather over the northern parts of the country and have deployed rescue and other personnel to these areas.

Khaled Qasim, an official at the Presidency of Meteorology and Environment (PME), told Arab News that Jeddah and the coastal areas would see temperatures between 19 and 27 degrees Celsius on Tuesday.

However, Tuesday would see temperatures drop in the eastern regions of Makkah because of wind blowing through the area. There was also a chance of thunder and cold weather of between 4 and 18 degrees Celsius in the northern parts of the Kingdom including parts of Madinah, Tabuk, Giryad, Jouf, Arar, Qaisumah, Hafr Al-Batin and Qassim.

There would also be inclement weather in Asir, Baha, Khamis Mushait and Jazan, with winds whipping up sand and reducing visibility. There was also a likelihood of fog late at night and early in the morning.

Jeddah residents were fearful that the rain would return, with many keeping their children at home. Samia Ahsan, a mother, said: “There was a message circulated by SMS and social media websites of light rain on Monday with heavy rain and thunderstorms on Tuesday. We didn’t send our children to school and don't plan to do so on Tuesday either.”

Salma Shafeeq, a teacher at an international school, said that their school administration sent out a message that Tuesday would be a holiday because of the expected thunderstorms.

Heavy rain in Yanbu, Madinah, Tabuk, Al-Wajah, Duba and Jouf disrupted civic life over the past few days. Showers in Rabigh saw the closure of colleges and schools on Sunday and Monday.

Several towns and villages in valleys were cut off in Tabuk due to the heavy rain. A Saudia flight from Jeddah to Wajah had to return to Jeddah because of poor weather. Rainwater entered a hospital in Yanbu.

There was also flooding at dawn on Sunday in Duba and Madinah, where municipal workers had to use machines to pump water from the streets.

The northern villages in Al-Alaa district also saw heavy rainfall filling the district’s large dam. Residents in the neighborhoods of Al-Faraa, Al-Najeel, Abu Raka, Al-Nasheefa and Al-Balaiteeh reported that water leaked into their homes through roofs.