AMMAN — The Kingdom’s water situation is improving after recent rains boosted storage in the country’s dams, Jordan Valley Authority (JVA) Secretary General Saad Abu Hammour said on Thursday.

“The total amount of water stored in the Kingdom’s 10 dams stands at 71.5 million cubic metres (mcm) following the recent rainfall,” he told The Jordan Times over the phone yesterday.

The country’s 10 major dams have a total storage capacity of 325mcm, and are now 22 per cent full.

Abu Hammour pointed out that several factors influence whether and to what extent rainfall increases the amount of water stored in dams.

“When rainy days are not consecutive, they will not result in increased dam storages. Also, if it does not rain heavily, this also affects the amount of water, because the ground absorbs it,” he noted.

However, the JVA official expressed hope that Jordan will see more heavy rain in the coming days that will further increase the country’s water storage.

Meanwhile, the Jordan Metrological Department said in a statement sent to The Jordan Times that the highest rainfall during the recent wet spell was registered in Ras Muneef in Ajloun Governorate (53.2mm), followed by Salt (48.8mm) Irbid (32.5mm), Sweileh (34mm), Tafileh (21.1mm) and Shobak (14.2mm).

The depression and cold air mass also brought snow to many parts of the country.

On Friday, the weather will warm up slightly, but it will remain chilly, with a daytime high of 13ºC and a nighttime low of 2ºC, according to the JMD website.

Temperatures will rise further on Saturday and Sunday, but it will remain relatively cold during the day and cold at night with southeasterly moderate to fresh winds, the website said.

On Saturday temperatures will range between a high of 14ºC and a low of 3ºC, and on Sunday reach a maximum of 15ºC during the day and drop to a minimum of 5ºC overnight, according to the JMD.