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It has been a stormy 24 hours as the first significant winter storm is upon us. The heavy rains which began on Tuesday of 3 Kislev continued through the night and Wednesday. They are expected to taper off on Thursday morning. The unseasonably cold temperatures will continue through Shabbos, but the rainfall and sporadic thundershowers are expected to end by noon on Thursday, 5 Kislev.

As is generally the case, it was not all winter fun for many, especially residents of flood prone area like southern Tel Aviv residents. Israel Police reported some roads flooded because drainage systems were not cleaned ahead of the storm. Some communities received their monthly rainfall in the past 24 hours as the rains backed by strong winds hit hard. There were reports of power outages in some areas as well.

According to the experts, the communities with the most rainfall were Karnei Shomron and Kevutzat Yavne, measuring 72mm (2.83 inches) until 08:00 on Wednesday morning. Shaare Tikvah received 70mm, followed by Beit Dagan with 62mm, and Tel Aviv with 23mm (0.90 inches).

In Yerushalayim, rainfall measured 40mm (1.57 inches). The southern Negev reported 47mm (1.85 inches) and 26mm (1.02 inches) over the Kinneret which measured -212.83 on Wednesday morning.

Temperatures around Israel for Wednesday, 4 Kislev:

· Yerushalayim: 7C (44.5F) at night to 10C (50F) during the day.

· Tel Aviv: 14-16 (57-60.5)

· Haifa: 11-16 (52-60.5)

· Tzfas: 5-9 (41-48.2)

· Katzrin: 9-14 (48.2-57)

· Modi’in: 11-15 (52-59)

· Ashdod: 15-17 (52-62.5)

· Beersheva: 11-15 (52-59)

· Mitzpei Ramon: 7-11 (44.5-52)

· Eilat: 14-20 57-68)

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)