Israel braces for ‘unprecedented’ summer rain, potential flooding this weekend
Heavy showers, thunderstorms and hail expected overnight Saturday-Sunday during usually dry season, with some areas potentially receiving up to 1.5 inches
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The Israel Meteorological Service issued a warning on Wednesday of “extremely unusual” and “unprecedented” rainfall expected this weekend that could cause flooding and other disruptions.
Rainfall is highly rare in Israel during the summer months, when Israelis can routinely expect to go weeks on end without needing an umbrella, though a brief downpour hit Jerusalem and surrounding areas two weeks ago.
“We are likely to experience a highly significant and extremely unusual rain event for this time of year” overnight between Saturday and Sunday, the IMS said, with the heaviest rain expected along the northern coast, the Sharon region and the Tel Aviv metropolitan area.
“The rain is expected to be accompanied by thunderstorms, lightning and even hail,” the IMS added. “Urban flooding and disruptions are a real possibility in coastal cities due to the intensity of the rainfall, including in the Tel Aviv area and cities in the Shfela,” the lowland southeast of Tel Aviv
According to Hebrew media reports, some areas of the country are set to receive up to 40 millimeters (1.5 inches) of rain.
Channel 12 reported that, if it materializes, the rain could mark the first such rain event recorded in Israel before September in 30 years.
The earlier downpour had already broken records, bringing 26 millimeters (1.02 inches) of rain over the course of the day, including 11 millimeters (0.43 inches) in a single hour — the highest August rainfall ever recorded in the region.
Temperatures are expected to dip slightly ahead of and during the showers before rising again immediately afterward.
The Times of Israel Community.