A bout of frosty weather hit Israel on Sunday and is set to stay in the region for at least the next 48 hours.
Rain began falling in the morning hours across all parts of the country, while snowfall hit northern mountains and the Golan Heights. In the evening hours snow might spread to the mountainous areas in the center of the country.
The Meteo-tech meteorological company said the unusually freezing temperatures were caused by a weather front from Turkey that brought with its cold air from Russia, which penetrated the atmosphere in the Mediterranean.
In northern Israel, as well as in Jerusalem for the first time this winter, the temperatures will fall to below freezing in the late evening hours. In the Golan Regional Council all schools and educational institutions will open at 10 am on Sunday and Monday in order to allow the frost on the roads to melt away.
In the northern city of Safed the temperatures will range from 4 degrees in the afternoon to - 2 in the evening. In the town of Katzrin it will be slightly warmer with 6 degrees in the afternoon and -1 in the evening.
In the northern city of Haifa, the temperatures will range from 10 degrees celsius during the day Thursday to just 4 degrees at night. In Tel Aviv, the weather will be similar, with a range of 12 degrees during the day and 5 degrees at night.
In the southern city of Be’er Sheva, temperatures will range from 9 degrees throughout the day to 4 degrees at night. In Jerusalem, the temperatures will be cooler, reaching 6 degrees during the day and falling to 0 degrees overnight.
In the Mediterranean, northwesterly winds will reach up to 40 kph (25 mph) with gusts in some areas reaching the speed of 50 kph (31 mph). Waves could reach up to reach 320 cm (10 feet).
On Monday, the weather will remain unseasonably cold with rain expected in most parts of the country. Snow is set to continue in northern Israel as well as across mountainous areas in the center of the country.
The inclement weather, however, has allowed the water level in the Sea of Galilee, Israel’s only freshwater lake, to rise by yet another two centimeters. The water level currently stands at -210.08 meters, an 8.5 cm increase since last Thursday.