After the severe weather that swept across Israel on Saturday with the season’s first hot, dry weather system, rain is expected Sunday in the north and center of the country, with a chance of isolated thunderstorms. Temperatures are set to drop sharply and will be slightly below the seasonal average.
On Monday, skies are expected to be partly to mostly cloudy, with possible drizzle to light local rain in northern and central Israel through midday. Temperatures will remain slightly below normal for the time of year.
Sandstorm in southern Israel
(Video: Roni Green Shaulov, Shmulik David, Becky Wieder, Rubin Casey, Hilik Magnus, Raanan Ben-Zur)
A marked rise in temperatures is forecast for Tuesday, along with lower humidity, especially in the hills and inland areas. Skies are expected to be mostly clear. Strong easterly winds are forecast in the northern hills in the morning, while brisk northerly winds are expected along the coastal plain in the afternoon.
Rain is expected to return Wednesday, but only after another spike in temperatures. Forecasters said the morning will bring hotter-than-usual to desert conditions, along with strong easterly winds in the north and the central hills, where haze is possible. By around midday, winds are expected to strengthen in southern Israel, bringing dusty conditions. Showers accompanied by thunderstorms are forecast to begin around noon, mainly in the south and center. Flash flooding is possible in the Negev, the Arava, and the desert streams of the Judean Desert and Dead Sea region. Later, the rain is expected to intensify and spread to most parts of the country.
The first dry system of the season arrived Saturday from Egypt, bringing extreme conditions including especially strong winds and heavy haze. Southerly winds strengthened from the morning hours, first in the southern Negev, where gusts reached 90 kph, or about 56 mph, near the Egyptian border and in the Besor region. By around midday, strong winds had spread to central and northern Israel, with gusts reaching 95 kph, or 59 mph, in the West Bank and 91 kph, or 57 mph, in the western Galilee.
ynet military Ron Ben-Yishai said the weather can also affect missile fire toward Israel. He said continuing launches from Iran, or at least the fact that they have not diminished, are due in part to weather conditions. Haze and low cloud cover make it harder to track launchers and gather visual intelligence, he said. Similar low cloud conditions are also affecting parts of Iran, he said, and certainly Lebanon, where the weather can help Hezbollah operatives reach launch positions without being detected.
In southern Israel and communities near the Gaza border, dust storms developed Saturday, reducing visibility to only a few hundred meters, according to the report. Dust particle concentrations measured at Environmental Protection Ministry monitoring stations reached very high levels in areas including Ashkelon and Ashalim. The haze later spread to the coastal plain and as far as the northern coast.
Rain fell in many inland areas Saturday afternoon, though totals were light at only 3 to 5 millimeters, or about 0.1 to 0.2 inches. Overnight, conditions shifted again, with local rainfall falling mainly in the north and center.
Forecast temperatures for Sunday and Sunday night:
Jerusalem, 9 C to 14 C (48 F to 57 F); Tel Aviv, 13 C to 18 C (55 F to 64 F); Haifa, 14 C to 18 C (57 F to 64 F); Safed, 9 C to 13 C (48 F to 55 F); Katzrin, 11 C to 16 C (52 F to 61 F); Tiberias, 12 C to 18 C (54 F to 64 F); Nazareth, 12 C to 17 C (54 F to 63 F); Afula, 12 C to 19 C (54 F to 66 F); Beit Shean, 15 C to 21 C (59 F to 70 F); Lod, 13 C to 19 C (55 F to 66 F); Ashdod, 13 C to 19 C (55 F to 66 F); Ein Gedi, 17 C to 24 C (63 F to 75 F); Be'er Sheva, 12 C to 19 C (54 F to 66 F); Mitzpe Ramon, 8 C to 16 C (46 F to 61 F); and Eilat, 17 C to 24 C (63 F to 75 F).