High winds, intense cold and snow in the north: The storm arriving from Syria

Floods in the south, snow in the Golan Heights, sandstorms in the Negev are expected on Wednesday and Thursday; But the rainfall amounts will probably be low and will not change the dismal precipitation balance after the dry January 

A storm is on its way to Israel.
After an especially dry January that broke historic drought records, and after a few more days of comfortable temperatures, rain, strong winds, cold, haze and high waves are expected on Wednesday and Thursday according to the Meteorological Service.
The stormy weather will include strong winds that may reach speeds of 100 km/h, waves more than 4 meters high, sandstorms in the Negev, rains across the country, and floods in the Negev rivers and the Dead Sea. This storm will come to Israel from Syria, and will be accompanied by very cold air - with temperatures in Jerusalem, for example, dropping to 4°C at night and rising to 9 °C during the day.
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אתר החרמון
אתר החרמון
Snow on Mount Hermon
(Photo: Mount Hermon visitor's center)
A real snowstorm is expected on Mount Hermon, and on Thursday snow is also expected in the northern Golan Heights in the mountains that rise to a height of more than 1,000 meters.
Despite the storm and strong winds, precipitation amounts are not expected to be particularly high and will amount to about 30 mm-50 mm in the northern mountains and the center, and less than that in the coast and lowlands. This rainfall is not expected to significantly change the precipitation balance, which is currently in a large deficit after the dry month of January, during which there was no rain at all for most days.
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But before the real winter, which is expected to pay a brief visit later this week, warming will actually begin. On Monday there will be a slight increase in temperatures, mainly in the mountains and inland. On Tuesday, temperatures are expected to drop slightly, and toward the morning hours local rain will begin to fall, mainly in the north.

January is hotter and drier than average

According to a review by Dr. Amos Porat, director of Climate Service at the Israel Meteorological Service, January was significantly warmer and drier than average. The amount of rainfall in January was very small, so that nationwide it is one of the three driest Januarys since the beginning of measurements (along with January 2014 and 1955).
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מאה שערים ירושלים
מאה שערים ירושלים
There will be rain in Jerusalem
(Photo: Matias Delacroix/AP)
In the north of the country, only a few millimeters fell, even in areas such as the Galilee and the Golan Heights, where the multi-year average for this month is 150 mm to 250 mm, making January 2025 the driest in these areas since the beginning of measurements. In the center of the country and in the south, the lack of rainfall was slightly less extreme, but even in these areas, January 2025 was one of the driest since the beginning of measurements.
Following the dry January, the accumulated rainfall amounts at the start of the season are also significantly lower than average. This is especially noticeable in the northeast of the country, in the Judean Mountains and the Negev, where they reach about a third of the average for the same period.
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