Lake Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) rose 23 centimeters yesterday as torrential rain struck northern Israel, the Kinneret Authority reports. Over the past month, the Kinneret has risen 80 centimeters and is now at a level of minus 211.10 meters, 2.30 meters below its full level. Moreover, with the Galilee and Golan rivers swollen to record amounts, 136 cubic meters per second in the River Jordan, and more heavy rain forecast for today, the Kinneret will continue to fill rapidly.
The heavy rains also continue to take their toll in fatalities, with a 35 year-old man killed in Nahariya when he was swept away by flood water when trying to save people trapped in a car. He is the seventh fatality in weather related incidents over the past three weeks. Many of the roads in the north are blocked by floodwater and school has been cancelled in Nahariya and elsewhere. This is the fourth time in the past month that 100 millimeters of rain has fallen in some parts of the north in less than 24 hours - unprecedented since records have been kept.
The heavy rains, which fell in the north from yesterday morning, spread to the center and the south of the country by the afternoon and evening with flooding reported in many cities including the Petah Tikva - Rosh Ha'ayin region and the Ashdod - Ashkelon region. Heavy rains are forecast to continue throughout the day from the Galilee to the northern Negev with the danger of flooding in low lying areas. The rains will taper off by the evening, with occasional light showers forecast for Friday, and a dry, partly cloudy but cold day forecast for Saturday.
Heavy snow has been falling on Mount Hermon and the ski site remains closed until the weather clears.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on January 9, 2020
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