Israel's wettest winter for many years has seen the level of the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) rise rapidly. The Kinneret Authority reported the level of the lake rose 4.5 centimeters over the past 24 hours to 210.55 meters below seas level. The Kinneret has risen 1.35 meters since the start of the rainy season and 1 meter since the start of January. The lake needs to rise another 1.75 meters in order to be full and with snowfall yesterday on Mount Hermon, the Golan Heights and Galilee Mountains, the already swollen streams are pouring more and more water into the lake.
Yesterday also saw significant snowfalls on the mountain peaks in the center of the country in Judea and Samaria although not in Jerusalem. There was torrential rain in the rest of the country with drivers having to be rescued from their cars due to flooding in Tel Aviv's Rokach Boulevard. The heavy rains extended as far south as Beersheva, which had 20 millimeters of rain yesterday.
More rain is expected today although tapering off towards the afternoon. Heavier rainfall will resume tomorrow night through Friday although Saturday will be dry, partly cloudy and cold.
Since the start of the rainy season in October, all parts of the northern Israel have already had 80% of their average annual rainfall, while the rest Israel has had 60-70% of the annual average. According to Meteo-Tech, 580 millimeters of rain have fallen since October in Safed, 446 millimeters in Haifa, 400 millimeters in Tel Aviv, 407 millimeters in Jerusalem, 319 millimeters in Kiryat Gat, and 121 millimeters in Beersheva.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on January 22, 2020
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