The heavy rains and strong winds that lashed through Perlis yesterday were due to a weather phenomenon called rolling clouds.

The Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia) National Weather and Geophysics Operations Centre director Mohd Hisham Mohd Anip said the phenomenon occurred because storm clouds are aligned in a row after strong winds from the Andaman Sea come up against slow winds from the north of the Malacca Strait.

Hisham said the storm clouds moved rapidly from the sea to land, and usually occurs at these times in the Malacca Straits as well as the west coast of Sabah, and are expected to persist until the end of this month or next month.

“The rolling clouds phenomenon usually occurs late at night or early morning, while the strong winds and heavy rains will last a short while depending on the movement and cloud changes,” he told Bernama when contacted here today.

Hisham was commenting on the storm and heavy rains which hit almost all of Perlis last night causing several fatal accidents, damage to homes and public amenities, uprooted trees and disruption of power supply.

He said the public must be constantly alert to current weather conditions and take the necessary precautions by immediately getting to a safe place, and not taking risks by driving or riding a motorcycle in bad weather.

“Last night, the meteorological station in Chuping recorded a wind speed of more than 70kph. This is dangerous to the public in open areas, as it can cause uprooted trees and flying objects.

“MetMalaysia will monitor the extreme weather and issue warnings to the public and issue weather forecasts for air and sea transport,” he said.

Members of the public can obtain the latest information through the MetMalaysia website, Facebook and Twitter, the MyCuaca application, SMS 15888 or hotline 1300-22-1638 (1MET).

-Bernama