It was some storm alright - heard that at one stage the controllers at AUH were using handheld radios after a lightning strike took out all the comms.
The disabled aircraft or debris or whatever it was that was blocking 30L at DXB after the storm passed didn't help matters much either. After the airport reopened, we waited at the holding point for about an hour before we could get airborne - at one stage there were 25 aircraft waiting to land, most of them down to min. fuel.