Heavy Gishmei Brachah Pump Up Kinneret

YERUSHALAYIM
View of the Kinneret. (David Cohen/Flash90)

The heavy weekend gishmei brachah that fell in Israel were strong enough to be record-setting – to the extent that in the northern town of Maalot-Tarchisha, more rain fell between Friday afternoon and Sunday morning than the town usually gets in the entire month of March.

And the late-winter storm that brought Maalot-Tarchisha 82 millimeters of rain – the highest amount of rain measured by officials of any locale – is by no means over. Rain has been falling steadily throughout the day Sunday, and the same is expected for Monday – with rain intensifying late Sunday and early Monday, as the center of a major European storm that drifted into Israel arrives. Accompanying the storm have been temperatures that are more typical of the last week of December than the final weekend of March.

As of 8:00 a.m. Sunday, along with the record-setting amount of rain in Maalot-Tarchisha, rainfall on the northern Golan was measured at 69 millimeters, and 60 in the center Golan area; the Upper Galilee got 55 millimeters, with 35 millimeters recorded in the lower Galilee, 33 in Yerushalayim, and 32 in Ramle. Between Friday and Sunday mornings, the Kinneret rose 4.5 centimeters. Since the beginning of the rainy season, the Kinneret has gained 2.57 meters, and is currently 3.3 meters from being full. The Water Authority said the heavy rains markedly increased the flow of water in northern streams into the Kinneret, as well as into the Jordan River. Forecasters at the Meteo-Tek weather service told Yediot Acharonot that the Kinneret’s level will rise “significantly” in the coming days.

The storm is set to clear out only on Tuesday, and warmer temperatures are set to prevail for the rest of the week. However, forecasters said, another winter storm is brewing in Europe – and based on this season’s weather patterns, it was entirely possible that the country would experience another round of heavy rain and cold next week, as well.

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