Extreme winter weather hit Israel on Thursday, with residents of Jerusalem and the Golan Heights waking up to dozens of centimeters of snow on Friday morning.
The snow piled up in Jerusalem, Abu Ghosh, Ariel, Gush Etzion, Kiryat Arba, the upper Galilee and the Golan Heights. Snow also hit Druze villages in the Carmel region, the University of Haifa, Karmiel, and Ma\’ale Gilboa, along with Kiryat Shmona and the Hula Valley.
School was closed in areas with heavy snowfall. Furthermore, the airport in the northern city of Rosh Pina was shut down with the exception of emergency helicopter landings.
In Jerusalem, 25 centimeters of snow packed up through out the city and up to 30 centimeters piled up in the northern Golan Heights. The snow even hit the southern Israeli city of Be\’er Sheva – with a light downfall reported in the area.
In Tel Aviv and surrounding cities in central Israel, hail came down hard overnight.
Roads leading to Jerusalem were blocked from traffic due to the snow, and traffic in Jerusalem was suspended until the snow is cleared from the streets. Bus lines also ceased to run in Jerusalem – except for a few lines that reach the train station.
The Meteo-Tech meteorological website forecasted Friday to be rainy, cold and stormy throughout Israel, with a danger of flooding. Snow will continue to fall on Friday in mountainous regions in northern and central Israel until the afternoon. Precipitation is forecasted to weaken on Friday afternoon in the north, while rain and snow will continue to come down in central and southern Israel.
There is a danger of flooding in rivers in the east and south regions.