JEDDAH: With spring having officially begun on April 1, the Kingdom’s National Center of Meteorology and Civil Defense have warned that moderate to heavy rain is expected throughout the month and possibly the rest of the season, the Saudi Press Agency reported. The Civil Defense had earlier this week said that the rainfall until Saturday would be accompanied by severe weather conditions including high winds, low visibility and fog. Dr. Ayman Ghulam, CEO of the center, said April is usually a month where high rainfall is recorded. Spring is from April to June. “The center monitors the Kingdom’s atmosphere around the clock and works with the concerned authorities in the various regions and governorates to deal with the weather phenomena to provide the necessary information and facilitate their practical and field tasks to protect lives and property,” said Ghulam. Hussein Al-Qahtani, a spokesman for the NCM, urged citizens and residents to exercise caution during this time. He said there may be higher than average rainfall over the remainder of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which is set to end next week. Al-Qahtani told state media that spring is usually characterized by rapid fluctuations in weather and this year there could be less rain than previous years. “We are also working on climate studies of the severe weather phenomena that resulted in raised temperatures in the southern regions,” he added. The southern regions recorded 75.2 millimeters of rain since Monday. The Civil Defense called on the public to stay away from low-lying areas or places which could be affected by floods. The authority also said fines of up to SR10,000 ($2,666) would be issued to anyone crossing valleys during this time.