Snow expected in Jerusalem, mountainous areas on Wednesday

With temperatures dropping throughout Israel, the epic storm that has been battering the country since the weekend promises to blanket mountainous regions with up to a foot of snow over a several-day period, including in Jerusalem.

The rainy, windy storm continued Tuesday evening, along with “unseasonably cold” conditions.

According to the forecasts from the Israel Meteorological Service, snow, which has been falling on Mount Hermon all week, was expected to spread to other mountainous areas overnight Tuesday, including Safed in the north and possibly parts of the Etzion bloc, south of Jerusalem.

On Wednesday, extremely strong winds and rain were predicted throughout the country, with snow expected in the higher elevations, including in Jerusalem and possibly in the mountain areas of the Negev Desert.

The storm, the fiercest Israel has seen in two decades, is expected to let up on Thursday afternoon.

In Jerusalem, where a snowy day is considered a semi-official holiday, the municipality on Tuesday had already prepared tractors and other snow-clearing equipment.