The rainy and cold weather is expected to last until Tuesday. According to the forecast of the meteorological service in Beit Dagan, today (First) Rains will fall from time to time, accompanied by single thunderstorms, will continue to fall in the north of the country and in the center. It will continue to be colder than usual for the season.
The temperature in Tel Aviv will reach 14 degrees, in Jerusalem – 11, in Haifa – 14, in Tiberias – 16, in Safed – 9, in Be’er Sheva – 15, in Mitzpe Ramon – 11 and in Eilat – 21.
on the day Crimson, in the north of the country and in the center, occasional rains are still expected. Temperatures will continue to be lower than normal for the season.
even during the day Thirdin the north of the country and in the center, local rains are still expected, mostly light, but there will be an increase in temperatures and they will be normal for the season.
on the day Fourth Rains are also not expected according to the current forecast, and there will be another rise in temperatures.
Rain in Korazim National Park. Dekal Segev, Nature and Parks Authority (Photo: Dekal Segev, Nature and Parks Authority)
Against the background of the strong flows of the streams into the Sea of ​​Galilee, according to the Water Authority data, the lake level rose by another five centimeters until Friday and is only 1.74 meters lower than the upper red line.
The director of the climate branch in the meteorological service in Beit Dagan, Dr. Amos Porat, said that since the beginning of the rainy system, on January 22, the highest amounts of precipitation were mostly measured at measuring stations in the north, in Sharon, in the lowlands, in Samaria, and in the coastal plain:
327 mm was measured at the Bnei Dror station in Sharon, at the Kfar Hirok station in north Tel Aviv – 314 mm, at Zichron Ya’akov – 280 mm, at Kibbutz Ilon – 276, at Carni Shomron – 253 mm, at Shavei Zion – 242 mm , in Marom Golan – 235 mm, in Tel Aviv South – 230 mm, in Beit Dagan – 216 mm, in Safed – 203 mm, in Jerusalem – 130 mm, in Ashkelon – 123 mm and in Be’er Sheva – 39 mm. Dr. Amos Porat noted that according to the summary of the data, the month of January was considerably rainier than average.
The amounts of rain reached 1.5 to 2 times the average in the north of the country and in the center and in several areas, the month of January was the third or fourth rainiest in the series of measurements of the meteorological service for decades. The January rains mostly fell in two long episodes, one towards the middle of the month and the other in the latter part of the month.
The second episode began on January 22 and continues into the month of February, so it is expected to last over two weeks in a row, making it unusual in its duration.
Dr. Porat further stated that in addition to these rain episodes there was another episode with little precipitation in early January, so that throughout January the number of rainy days exceeded the average to a considerable extent. This, in contrast to the small number of rainy days that were at the beginning of the season. It was cooler than average, but in the first part, as well as in the period between the rain events, it was significantly warmer than average, so January was overall warmer than average. Dr. Porat explained that this combination of a winter month that is very rainy and also warmer than average is unusual and nothing similar has happened to that in the past.
Following the rainy January, the amounts of rain from the beginning of the season are higher than the average for the corresponding period and in a limited number of areas they even reached the average of the entire rainy season. The summary of the data shows that January was rainier than average from the north of the country to the Sderot-South Hebron mountain line, while in the south of the country the amounts of rain were less than the average.
In the Galilee, the Golan, the northern valleys and the coastal plain, 250 to 350 mm fell in January (in parts of the Upper Galilee and the northern Golan even about 400 mm) – amounts that are 1.5 to 2 times higher than the average for the month of January. Also in the southern coastal plain up to the Ashkelon-Sderot area, January was rainier than average at a similar rate. In the mountains of Samaria and Judea it was also rainier than average, but to a lesser extent with amounts reaching 120% to 160% of average. The amounts of rain decreased considerably in the southern and eastern parts of the country.
In the center of the Jordan Valley and in the south and in the center of the area surrounding Gaza, the amounts were close to the average, and in the north of the Negev they were already lower than the average (60% to 80%) as was the case in the east of the Judean Mountains. In the south surrounding Gaza and in the west of the Negev, less than 50% of the average for the month fell, and in the south of the Negev and the Arava, very little rain fell.
Although January 2024 does not break records in the amount of rain, it is ranked high compared to the past. In a number of areas where the amount of rain was twice the average, such as the Sharon region and in parts of the Western Galilee, the northeast of the country and the southern coastal plain, January ranks third or fourth in the last 70 to 80 years. Similar or rainier January months were in 2020, 2000, 1974 and 1969.