Day trippers warned to avoid South due to flash-flood risk
Rain expected to strengthen and spread north.
By YUVAL BAGNO/MAARIVUpdated: MARCH 26, 2016 10:22Flash flood in the South (photo credit: ISRAEL NATURE AND PARKS AUTHORITY)
Rain was falling on Saturday morning in southern Israel from Beersheba south to the Eilat Mountains and day trippers were warned not to travel in those areas due to flash flooding.Travelers were warned of potential dangerous conditions in the wadis of the Judean Desert and in the area near the southern Dead Sea.Later on Saturday the rain was forecast to strengthen and spread northward. Rainfall in the North was below average this past winter, while rainfall in the South was above average. In the North, rainfall amounted to only 65 percent to 80% of the average as of the begining of March. In the same perid, at some weather stations in the South, such as in communities near the Gaza Strip, the lower Jordan Valley and around the Dead Sea, rainfall surpassed the average for the entire winter season by 110-140%.Michelle Malka Grossman contributed to this report.