Israelis found themselves unexpectedly reaching for umbrellas after heavy rain and thunderstorms hit most parts of the country on Tuesday.
The weather over the past few days have been summery and hot as Israel enters the month of May, but Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning are set to give Israelis a final whiff of winter.
May showers across Israel
(צילום: מוטי קמחי, רועי עידן, מוטי קמחי, צחי שדה, אלון דייזי-רשות הכינרת, עופר שנער- רט\"ג)
In southern Israel, heavy rainfall, accompanied by lightning and thunderstorms, caused several major traffic accidents in some areas of the north.
By the afternoon hours, the biggest amounts of rainfall were recorded in the Lower Galilee, and in the Arab village of Iksal in northern Israel, where 11 millimeters of rain had been reported.
Giora Frenkel from the Meteo-Tech meteorological company told Ynet that the source of sudden rain is a cold front that has been passing over Israeli territory.
"These are high but well-developed clouds, which pour a fair amount of rain, especially in the off-season, and also cause thunderstorms,” he said.
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Arbel National Park and Nature Reserve
(Photo: Arbel National Park and Nature Reserve)
According to Frankel, the majority of precipitation of this storm system is still ahead of us.
"About 200 km off the coast of Israel, there is now a major cold front approaching us, and as it approaches it’s becoming thicker,” he said. ”A total of 30 to 15 mm is expected in northern Israel and 20 mm in the Shomron mountains.”
In the northern city of Haifa, the temperatures will dip from 17 degrees celsius during the day Monday to 11 degrees at night. In Tel Aviv, the weather will be similar with a range of 17 degrees during the day and 1 degrees at night. In the southern city of Be’er Sheva, temperatures will range from 15 degrees throughout the day to just 7 degrees at night. In Jerusalem, the weather will be especially cold with temperatures reaching 11 degrees celsius during the day and falling to 6 degrees overnight.
The storm system will cool off by Wednesday afternoon, but on Friday and Saturday another cold front is set to hit the country. The rainfall, however, is forecasted to be on a much smaller scale.