Winter has arrived early to Israel's north with unexpected heavy rainfalls and temperature drops across the country.
By ZACHARY KEYSERUpdated: OCTOBER 12, 2018 21:25Rain in KIbbutz Yiftah(photo credit: ANAT ZISOVITCH/MAARIV)
In the past 24 hours, strong lighting, thunderstorms and rainfall have hit Israel's north; heavy hail was also reported in several areas.Kiryat Shmona was surprised by the heavy rainfall and electrical storms, being the first in the country to receive the firm message: winter is upon us.Experts forecast that this winter will see heavier rainfall than normal. The northern rain is expected to continue, while the coastal cities will start to receive light rains soon.The watery weather is predicted to continue in this manner for the next few days.The Israeli Water Authority published data revealing the difficult predictions for water reserves.Despite the expected rainy winter season, the authority does not believe they will be able to make up the needed gap in their reservoirs. They are currently lacking approximately 2.5 billion cubic meters of water after a five-year drought.The authority commented that the predicted winter will pushed the water levels up slightly, but will still be below the red line of needed supply.
