The Red Sea low pressure system will be active and extend over the coming weeks... does it herald the arrival of thunderstorms?

Arab Weather - With the approach of autumn, solar radiation over the Arabian Peninsula decreases, gradually weakening the seasonal heat depression and allowing the Red Sea depression to expand into the region, bringing several weather phenomena.

What is the Red Sea Depression?

It is a thermal depression formed as a result of differences between the surface temperature of the Red Sea and the temperature of the land in the Arabian Peninsula and Sudan. It is considered an extension of the seasonal thermal depression of Sudan. The Red Sea depression shrinks during the summer due to the high temperature of the land compared to the sea, which leads to its retreat southward.

As temperatures moderate and surface pressure rises over land (the seasonal low in the Arabian Peninsula fills) in the coming days and weeks, pressure in the Red Sea will decrease, allowing the low to expand northward between mid-September and early May.

How do the effects of the Red Sea depression affect the weather?

Arab Weather explains that the Red Sea Low is a thermal low, and its characteristics do not follow those of frontal or tropical lows. Its northward and eastward expansion depends on the movement of cold upper basins that rush in from the north. The effect of the Red Sea Low is as follows:

High temperatures and dry weather
The Red Sea depression causes high temperatures and potentially heat waves when its extension is strong. It also causes dry and dusty weather, and dust waves may sometimes form as a result of easterly to southeasterly winds.

It causes the formation of atmospheric instability when suitable weather conditions are present.
As cold upper basins from the north push eastward toward the eastern Mediterranean basin and northern Egypt, the Red Sea low responds, with moisture rushing in from tropical regions of Africa and the Arabian Sea.

Warm air currents resulting from the expansion of the Red Sea depression in the lower atmosphere meet cold air currents in the upper atmosphere, coinciding with increased humidity levels in the atmosphere.

When this convergence occurs, unstable weather conditions arise, resulting in thunderstorms. It is worth noting that this is the main reason behind the increased chances of flooding in the fall.