A storm dumps record rain across the desert nation of UAE and floods Dubai’s airport WSOC TV [Video]

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — (AP) — The desert nation of the United Arab Emirates attempted to dry out Wednesday from the heaviest rain ever recorded there after a deluge flooded out Dubai International Airport, disrupting flights through the world’s busiest airfield for international travel.

The state-run WAM news agency called the rain Tuesday “a historic weather event” that surpassed “anything documented since the start of data collection in 1949.” That’s before the discovery of crude oil in this energy-rich nation then part of a British protectorate known as the Trucial States.

Rain also fell in Bahrain, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. However, the rains were acute across the UAE.

The flooding sparked speculation that cloud seeding — flying small planes through clouds dispersing chemicals aimed at getting rain to fall — may have caused the deluge. But experts said the storm systems that produced the rain were forecast well in advance and that …