The worst snowstorm in 20 years in Israel shut government offices, public transport and schools in Jerusalem and along the northern Israeli region bordering on Lebanon on Thursday.
Elisha Peleg, an official in charge of emergencies with Israel's municipality for Jerusalem, urged residents to remain at home and stay off the streets, telling Israel Army Radio the area had overnight seen its greatest snowfall since 1992.
He said 10 to 20 centimetres (4 to 6 inches) of snow had piled up in the city centre and more than that in outlying areas. "The downtown area is bathed in white," he said.
Public transport ground to a halt for several hours. Many vehicles that ventured onto roads were stuck and citizens were urged to remain at home. Government offices also remained closed for the day.
Israel Radio said a highway linking Jerusalem to Tel Aviv was blocked, and much of the northern Galilee region was paralysed by heavy snowfalls.
A deluge of rain flooded homes all over Israel throughout the week, with between 150 and 250 millimeters accumulating in the country’s North and Center – and some areas even receiving up to 300 millimeters, according to the Israel Meteorological Service.
Such rainfall in one continuous six to seven day stretch is rare, and in the past 50 years, such incidents only occurred a few times,” a statement from the IMS noted.
After continued heavy rains, the Lake Kinneret’s (Sea of Galilee) water level stood at 211.20 meters below sea level, a 14-centimeter rise from Wednesday morning. In total, the water level rose 73 cm. during the string of stormy days – an increase that is unparalleled in the last 10 or 20 years, the Water Authority said.
In the Jerusalem area, there was no school in the city itself, or in Gush Etzion, Kiryat Arba, Beit El, Har Adar and Mevaseret Zion. Several Samarian settlement schools were closed, as were those of communities in the Tamar region, Ein Gedi, Dimona and Ramat Hanegev.
Most Palestinian schools were also closed throughout the West Bank, according to the Palestinian news agency Ma’an, which reported heavy flooding that damaged hundreds of homes.
Tel Aviv, which had faced a deluge of floods throughout the week, had a much lighter Thursday, receiving only about 4.6 millimeters of rain in its city center, compared to the 130mm. total for the week.
Friday morning there was still be a risk of icy road conditions in the northern, central and Negev mountains.
On Friday, skies will be partly cloudy to cloudy with isolated light rain in the north and along the coast, while temperatures will rise slightly but remain unseasonably cold. Saturday will likely feature partly cloudy skies and an additional rise in temperature with strong east winds, the IMS said.
At least 14 people have died in the winter storm in Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, the Palestinian Authority and another three in Israel.