Posted on 12/12/2013 7:27:17 PM PST by Jack Hydrazine
JERUSALEM (EJP)---The heaviest winter snowstorm in December since 1953 hit Israel, including Jerusalem, Wednesday night and Thursday, prompting school closures and blocking access routes to the Israeli capital.
The stormy weather was expected to persist into the weekend, with snow reaching elevated areas as far south as the Negev Desert on Friday.
Snow began falling on Mount Hermon in the north. Snow is expected later in the week in areas of northern Israel and the Galilee, as well as in high elevations in central Israel.
The Jerusalem municipality sent out an alert that school studies in the capital were canceled. Courses at the Hebrew University campus on Mount Scopus were also called off for the day.
“Snow in Jerusalem is a cause for celebration for Jerusalemites and the many visitors who come to see the world’s most beautiful city painted white,” said Jerusalem's Mayor Nir Barkat.“We hope the snow won’t disappoint, especially for Jerusalem’s excited children, who are looking forward to it.”
Several major traffic arteries were closed throughout the country on Thursday morning, including parts of the tunnel road between Jerusalem and Hebron, and stretches of the Dead Sea road.
The Jerusalem-bound lanes on Route 1 were intermittently closed between Latrun and Jerusalem.
Temperatures are expected to be several degrees colder than usual for the rest of the week and dropping each day.
High winds have prevented flights from leaving the Sde Dov airport in Tel Aviv and slowed air traffic at Ben Gurion International Airport.
In Tel Aviv, parts of the city’s boardwalk were under water due to heavy amounts of rain. Authorities threatened to close the major Ayalon Highway as the Ayalon River continues to rise.
As a result of the snowstorm, US Secretary of State John Kerry's scheduled meeting with Israel President Shimon Peres and Prime Minister Brenjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Thursday was postponed.
30 centimeters is about a foot which is what is looks like to me. I’ve never seen snow quite like that in my lifetime.
All kidding aside, I think this is just another cut against the man made global warming fanatics. I expect to see about 999 more to come.
Do you think 1st century folks and accurate maps?
Not trying to be “smart”, just wondering.
It’s not even officially winter yet and Israel is getting record snow. Yes, more yet to come!
So what does that mean, with the centimeters of snow and millimeters of rain???
Yes, I know they speak Hebrew but they also speak English now. In English-speaking America; we don’t measure in Latin/Roman terms. We have inches. Did anyone translate? It looks like a lot!
Translation of what mountn man wrote in that blank space:
“Agent triple-zero, Secret Squirrel, reporting for duty sir.”
Me: Go ahead, Secret Squirrel!
Its showing up on my puter
Interesting that they talk about record snowfall but don't think it is very important to give any numbers. They also talk about temps being lower than usual, but again, no numbers.
We measure the snow vertically in inches fallen and they, also, but in centimeters.
One inch is about 2.54 centimeters so 12 inches is about 30cm over there.
And they have had a foot (around 30+ centimeters) of snow from the looks of it.
We measure rain here in inches and there it is millimeters.
One inch of rain is about 25.4 millimeters.
Sheleg tov meod!
Very interesting.
The 1953 year stands out. Maybe ‘14 will be a flood year, globally.
Look at the pic on post #16. That should give you pretty good idea of the depth of snow. Around a foot or so.
http://www.jpost.com/National-News/Snow-begins-to-fall-as-winter-storm-rolls-in-334742
“In addition to the more than 10 centimeters of snowfall slated to hit the North on Thursday, up to 10 centimeters of snow is expected to fall on mountain peaks in the country’s central and Jerusalem areas, according to the IMS.
Flurries will likely fall over Mizpe Ramon in the Negev, and the largest amount of snow will likely accumulate in the Hebron and Gush Etzion regions – reaching heights of up to 15 to 20 cm., the IMS reported.
While this would be the third year in a row for Jerusalem to receive snow, Porat stressed that this only constitutes a coincidence, not a trend.
While this would be the third year in a row for Jerusalem to receive snow, Porat stressed that this only constitutes a coincidence, not a trend.
Heavy amounts of rain drenched the Galilee, the Sharon region and Gush Dan overnight on Tuesday, causing Lake Kinneret’s water level to rise by one centimeter on Wednesday morning, according to the Water Authority. By Wednesday afternoon, after additional heavy rains, the Water Authority reported that the Kinneret had risen an additional centimeter, bringing the basin up to 211.38 meters below sea level – 2.58m. from full capacity.
As of 4 p.m. on Wednesday, the largest amounts of rain for the day – between 40 and 60 millimeters – fell in the southern Coastal Plain, the central mountains and the Sharon region, the IMS said. In addition to the rains that drenched most areas on Wednesday, strong westerly winds overtook the country by the afternoon, with speeds of up to 50 to 80 kilometers per hour, IMS data reported.”
I learned that Bethlehem is around the same latitude as Tombstone AZ, and we have snow here.
Snow blankets parts of Israel, Syria and the Middle East
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/picturegalleries/worldnews/9793865/Snow-blankets-parts-of-Israel-Syria-and-the-Middle-East.html
Great photos here.
Every generation thinks it is the last...
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