Yerushalayim Wakes Up to White Morning

A powerful storm coming out of Europe generated a heavy snowstorm over several regions in Israel on Wednesday, including in Yerushalayim.

Jerusalemites woke up on Thursday morning to frosty weather as substantial amounts of snow piled up overnight across the city.

Some 28 inches of snow fell on Mount Hermon.

Yerushalayim Mayor Moshe Lion said that schools would operate as usual despite a layer of 5-10 centimeters (2-4 inches) of snow still blanketing the city.

Bracing for the stormy night in Yerushalayim, firefighting and rescue services deployed some 200 tractors to clear out the snow, with dozens of teams stationed throughout the city.

The municipality said it was constantly working to clear the snow from arterial roads throughout the city, focusing on roads leading to educational institutions.

The snow will continue to fall throughout the morning in the northern and central mountains, later giving way to rain. The rain will gradually weaken later in the day, but it will return on Friday and there is a fear of flooding in coastal and central cities.

The Water Authority announced Thursday that the level of the Kinneret has risen by 8 cm (2.5 inches) in the last day as a result of the heavy rains. The sea’s level stands at 68 cm from the top red line, at which the country may open the Deganya Dam, for the first time in years.