Winter returns to Israel after atypically warm weekend
After approximately a week and a half of pleasant, warm weather, rain is expected to return to Israel in the coming week.
By MOSHE COHEN/MAARIV, YASSER OKBI/MAARIVLightning strikes over the Mediterranean sea during a rain storm near the city of Ashkelon(photo credit: AMIR COHEN/REUTERS)
Following a two-week respite, the winter is returning in full force throughout the coming week. Oren Davidoff, the weather forecaster for the meteorological service at Beit Dagan, said that while Sunday and Monday are expected to be warm, from Tuesday on the country will cool down significantly.Winter's return is expected on Tuesday. In the morning, it will be cloudy with a slight temperature drop. At the same time, southwestern winds will begin to blow in the coastal and southern plains, and later, inland. Haze is expected in central Israel, while the southern region is expecting sandstorms.On Tuesday afternoon, local rainstorms are expected to hit, along with thunderstorms, in the north and along the coast. The rain will intensify throughout the evening and will extend down to the northern Negev in the southern region.On Wednesday, rain will fall in that same region intermittently. The meteorological service warns that there may be floods in the Jordan Valley, Judean Desert and Dead Sea, and even along the coast.Snow is expected to fall on Tuesday on Mount Hermon and will very likely continue into the weekend.The warm and pleasant weather throughout the past weekend was embraced by Israelis, who took the opportunity to visit Israel's nature reserves, forests and beaches. On Saturday, approximately 80,000 travelers visited sites managed by the Nature and Parks Authority, while many others visited forests and KKL sites.
