Spring has begun and the clocks have been put forward for summertime but Israel is still being buffeted by stormy winter weather. After an extremely wet March, April blew in today with unseasonably cold weather, snow on Mount Hermon, floods in the Negev and heavy showers everywhere in between.
Lake Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) has risen 15 centimeters since Thursday and is now 316 centimeters below its maximum level, according to the Israel Water Authority, and is likely to fill up completely as the heavy snows melt on the peak of Mount Hermon through the spring.
According to data provided by Meteo-Tech over 100 millimeters of rain fell in the Golan between Thursday and midday today and 80 millimeters in the Upper Galilee, bringing the amount of rain there to more than 1,000 millimeters this winter, well over the annual average of 718 meters. Haifa has received 47 millimeters in the past few days bringing the amount of rain there this winter to 752 millimeters of rain compared with an average of 550 millimeters.
Netanya has received 30 millimeters of rain over the past few days brining the total this winter to 614 millimeters compared with an annual average of 570 millimeters. Jerusalem has received 40 millimeters of rain since Thursday bringing the total rainfall in the capital this winter to 758 millimeters compared with a 582 millimeters annual average. Ashdod has received 36 millimeters of rain since Thursday bring total rainfall there to 700 millimeters compared with 520 millimeters and Kiryat Gat has received 22 millimeters of rain over the past few days bringing the total rainfall there this winter to 501 millimeters compared with an annual average of 410 millimeters. Tel Aviv received only 21 millimeters of rain since Thursday brining rainfall there since the start of winter to 579 millimeters of rain, just above its annual average of 560 millimeters.
The rain should taper off tomorrow morning with temperatures becoming considerably warmer by Thursday.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on April 1, 2019
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