Heavy rains were forcest for much of central and southern Israel on Friday, with warnings of possible floods in southern coastal cities as the severe weather system, dubbed Elpis, continued the batter the country.
The storm, which brought delight to Jerusalem with a rare snowfall, will continue to dump snow on the Golan Heights and possibly some of the higher areas in the Galilee.
Roads leading to the northern Golan Heights remained closed, as did the Mount Hermon ski center, which was reporting 1.2 meters (nearly 4 feet) of snow at the base, with 50 centimeters (20 inches) falling in since Thursday
The public was urged not to try and reach the area until roads were declared open. The ski resort hoped to reopen on Saturday.
Jerusalem, which received some 20-25 centimeters of snow, delighting adults and children alike, will see much of it washed away as snow turned to rain as temperatures increased.
There were also warnings of possible flooding in coastal cities and flash floods in the Negev desert.
Snow in Jerusalem, January 27, 2022, (Noam Revkin Fenton/Flash90)
The rains and snow were expected to ease on Saturday.
Elpis, which had caused havoc in Greece, Turkey and Lebanon, had dropped snow on the north of the county from early Wednesday morning, with the conditions spreading steadily south throughout the day.
Municipal workers worked through the night to clear roads in the Jerusalem, with 250 snow plows deployed and nearly 150 tons of salt spread over roads.
But schools and kindergartens remained shut on Thursday, allowing the children of the city to enjoy the snow. Even the deer that inhabit central Jerusalem’s Gazalle Valley were filmed frolicking in the snow.
הצבאים מתחממים בשלג באמצעות ריצה.צילום: יוחאי כהן.
Posted by פארק עמק הצבאים on Wednesday, January 26, 2022
Israel’s central hilly region, including Jerusalem, gets snowfall once every few years, though forecasts of snow often don’t pan out.
