The stormy weekend proved beneficial for Lake Kinneret, as the Sea of Galilee noted a 4-centimeter (1.57-inch) rise. The Sea of Galilee's water level currently stands at 214.33 meters (roughly 703.18 feet) below sea level. The rain caused floods in various areas in Israel and saturated thirsty agricultural land, but nevertheless, Water Authority officials are cautious in their predictions of the coming winter's contribution to the shrinking Lake Kinneret's water levels. The lake will need about 140 similar storms to truly stabilize: "It rained mostly in the coastal area, as well as in the Western Galilee and the Kinneret area, where we saw about 100mm (3.9 inches) of rain," said a Water Authority official. "Nevertheless, Israel has a huge water deficit and the Kinneret is still 5.53 meters (about 18 feet) short of being full – an amount equivalent to 140 similar rainstorms." The Hydrological Service said the weekend's rise in water levels was the result of direct rainfall over the Sea of Galilee, rather than the result of various streams flowing into it. Stormy skies over weekend (Photo: Shadi Matar) The coming week's rain forecast, added the service, is expected to raise water levels further, to an estimated 214.30 meters (703.08 feet) below sea level – about 7cm (2.75 inches) higher than levels noted one week ago. According to the Hydrological Service, Israel's rivers have yet to experience substantial watercourse due to the nature of rainfall, which was mostly coastal rather then inland. "Most of the rivers in northern Israel did not see substantial water flow. The first storms of the season prepare the soil, but the prolong aridity hasn’t allowed the rain to seep through to groundwater yet," Hilel Glazman, of the stream monitoring department at the Israel Nature and National Parks Service, told Ynet. Nevertheless, he noted, "this kind of rainfall is very important. The soil is ready for the next rain and future watercourse and floods will surly seep into groundwater." As for the water reservoirs, the Water Authority said current rainfall has yet to reach the aquifers.