Rain continued to fall locally in parts of Israel on Sunday, including in the coastal city of Netanya in the evening, but a weather system that had been forecast as potentially exceptional ended with far less rainfall than initially expected.
According to a summary by the Israel Meteorological Service, mostly light, localized rain fell across northern and central Israel from Saturday evening through Sunday morning. The wettest locations received only about 2 to 4 millimeters, or 0.08 to 0.16 inches.
Rain in Netanya
(Video: Revital Uziel)
The highest total was recorded at Misgav Am, near the Lebanese border, with 3.7 millimeters, or 0.15 inches. Light drizzle reached as far south as Nir Yitzhak, near the Gaza border, though no measurable rainfall was recorded there.
The Meteorological Service said the rain itself was not unusual. Similar or more significant rain events have occurred about 20 times during the past 70 summer seasons in July and August. Three more substantial summer rain events occurred in the past decade alone, in July 2021, August 2022 and August 2023.
What was unusual, forecasters said, was the combination of this system with a more significant rain event just two weeks earlier, on Aug. 15-16, when flooding was reported in Jerusalem and flash floods swept through several streams in the Judean Desert.
According to the service, two rain events during the height of the same summer, with one producing rainfall totals in the double-digit millimeter range, are rare. Over the past 70 years, that combination was recorded only in July 1957, August 1971 and July 1995.
Why the forecast changed
Forecasts issued several days before the latest system had raised the possibility of an unusually powerful and rare summer rain event. The Meteorological Service said the difference between those projections and what ultimately happened resulted from a small but significant shift in the path of an upper-level low-pressure system.
Waterspout spotted from a flight from Cyprus to Israel
(Video: from social media)
The system that reached the northeastern Mediterranean was unprecedented for this time of year, according to the service, bringing exceptionally cold air into the middle levels of the atmosphere at an altitude of about 5 to 6 kilometers, or 3.1 to 3.7 miles.
Combined with hot air near the surface, those conditions had been expected to create extreme atmospheric instability over northern and central Israel.
As the system approached, however, the center of the upper-level low shifted slightly northward. That movement altered surface pressure patterns and the area where air masses converged, causing the strongest storm clouds to develop mainly north of Israel.
Footage of the storm in Lebanon
Footage of the summer storm in Lebanon
(Video: LBCI)
Solar panels blown through Aleppo’s Al-Furqan neighborhood during the storm damage a parked vehicle
In the Gulf of Iskenderun in southern Turkey, western Syria and northern Lebanon, powerful storm clouds dumped tens of millimeters of rain within several hours, with many locations receiving more than 50 millimeters, or nearly 2 inches. The storms were accompanied by thunderstorms and heavy hail and caused runoff and urban flooding.
Similar clouds did not develop over southern Lebanon or Israel, where rain instead fell from thinner clouds more typical of summer rain events.
Winds reach 45 mph, waves top 10 feet
Although the rainfall fell well short of early forecasts, the unusual weather system made itself felt through strong winds.
Relatively powerful winds for summer swept across Israel on Saturday. Some mountain weather stations recorded sustained winds of about 50 kph, or 31 mph, with gusts reaching around 70 kph, or 43 mph.
A gust of 72 kph, or 45 mph, was recorded at Ma'ale Gilboa, while Itamar recorded 69 kph, or 43 mph, and the Mount Canaan station in Safed recorded 68 kph, or 42 mph.
The Meteorological Service said those speeds were not unprecedented but were unusual for the summer months. More exceptional was the broad area in which gusts of at least 50 kph, or 31 mph, were recorded.
At Sodom, near the Dead Sea, a maximum gust of 68 kph, or 42 mph, was recorded, the highest August reading there since an automatic wind gauge was installed about 25 years ago.
Strong winds were also felt along the Mediterranean coast, producing rough seas. Significant wave heights reached about 2 meters, or 6.6 feet, while maximum waves reached about 3 meters, or nearly 10 feet, and in some cases higher.
Since continuous automated measurements began in 2003, only one August, in 2011, has produced similar or higher waves.
From 113 degrees to 46 degrees
The unusual system also produced sharp temperature contrasts.
Strong winds descending from the Judean Mountains toward the Dead Sea heated rapidly, pushing the temperature at Sodom to 44.8 C, or 112.6 F, on Saturday, the highest temperature recorded there this August. Hatzeva, in the Arava desert, reached 43.7 C, or 110.7 F.
Meanwhile, persistent westerly winds overnight prevented substantial cooling in many areas, leaving temperatures above average, particularly in inland parts of the coastal plain.
The mountains were considerably cooler, with minimum temperatures dropping below 20 C, or 68 F.
The most striking reading came from the Mount Hermon weather station near the upper cable car station, where the temperature fell to just 8 C, or 46 F. It was the lowest August temperature recorded there since the automatic station was established 20 years ago.
Heat to build later this week
The Meteorological Service forecast partly cloudy conditions Sunday night, with drizzle still possible along the Mediterranean coast.
Monday is expected to be partly cloudy, with localized morning drizzle possible along the coast. Temperatures are forecast to rise slightly and remain around seasonal averages.
Skies are expected to clear Tuesday after morning clouds dissipate. Temperatures will rise further to slightly above seasonal averages, with increasing heat stress.
Another rise is expected Wednesday, particularly in the mountains and inland areas, where heavy to extreme heat stress is forecast. Temperatures should ease slightly Thursday in those areas, though heavy to extreme heat stress is expected to persist.
Forecast lows and highs for Monday are: Jerusalem 19-28 C (66-82 F), Tel Aviv 26-31 C (79-88 F), Haifa 25-31 C (77-88 F), Safed 18-29 C (64-84 F), Katzrin 20-33 C (68-91 F), Tiberias 23-35 C (73-95 F), Nazareth 23-34 C (73-93 F), Afula 24-34 C (75-93 F), Beit She'an 25-37 C (77-99 F), Lod 24-32 C (75-90 F), Ashdod 27-31 C (81-88 F), Ein Gedi 27-35 C (81-95 F), Be'er Sheva 23-32 C (73-90 F), Mitzpe Ramon 19-31 C (66-88 F) and Eilat 27-38 C (81-100 F).