Weekend rainfall triples seasonal average

Unseasonably cold temperatures and stormy weather continued to drench much of the country Sunday after a sudden cold snap brought temperatures down to well-below seasonal averages.

On Sunday, bursts of hail pounded Jerusalem as temperatures dropped to 9°C (50° F), far from the average April temperature of 21° C (69° F).

According to the Israel Meteorological Service, the Western Galilee town of Harashim saw a seasonal record of 111 mm (4 inches) of rain since Friday afternoon. Other parts of the country were also hit by the torrential downpours; in the past three days 69 mm (3 inches) of rain fell Haifa, 48 mm (2 inches) in Tel Aviv, 30 mm (1 inch) in Jerusalem and 8 mm (0.5 inches) in Beersheba.

Meteorologists said that the weekend rainfall was triple the monthly average or most parts of the country.

In the north this past week, an unexpected 20 cm (8 inch) snowfall on Mount Hermon forced officials to close the popular ski resort for what remained of the Passover holiday.

As a safety precaution, police and the Israel Nature and Parks Authority closed to the public hiking routes along wadis in the Negev after heavy rain flooded parts of Road 90 near the the Dead Sea.

With temperatures already at an 18-year low, forecasts called for more cold and rain across most of Israel through Sunday night, reaching all the way to the Negev desert in the south and possibly even the port city of Eilat at the southern tip of the country.

Temperatures are expected to rise Monday and Tuesday, but the inclement weather could briefly return on Thursday.