Cold snap sees freezing temperatures across Israel

A bout of unseasonably cold weather saw temperatures drop well below zero degrees Celsius in many parts of the country overnight Saturday.

Temperatures in the Golan Heights dropped to -9 degrees Celsius (15 dregrees Fahrenheit), 4.5°C in the Galilee city of Dalton and -3.8°C (20°F) in Majdal Shams, a city adjacent to Mount Hermon.

Residents of Safed and coastal cities including Tel Aviv also woke up to near-freezing weather Sunday morning. Jerusalem saw a temperature of 5°C.

While it is expected to remain exceptionally chilly for the season, meteorologists say the cold front will end by Sunday afternoon, and temperatures across the country will steadily rise throughout the week.

In October, one person was killed and dozens injured as high winds and heavy rain buffeted the country, knocking down trees and a crane in central Israel, and flooding roads in the south. Hundreds of thousands of Israelis were left without power for days, sparking a torrent of criticism from politicians and others, who accused the Israel Electric Corporation’s union of instructing workers to drag their feet, and the company of failing to have proper infrastructure in place.