It's Snowing in Jerusalem Today

It's Snowing in Jerusalem Today
-- A Reminder of Snows in Jerusalem almost 100 Years Ago

 

Jerusalem under blanket of snow. View from the Christian
Quarter showing the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Mosque
of Omar on the Temple Mount and Mt. of Olives. (circa 1900)

Strong rain, winds and snow storms are hitting the Middle East this week.

After several years of drought, record rains have fallen on Israel presenting the possibility that the Sea of Galilee, Israel's "national reservoir," may fill by the end of winter.  Just this week the sea rose 60 centimeters (2 feet), and many areas in the country already received one-third of their average rainfall.

British soldiers at the Western Wall (1921)

Galilee and Golan mountains are covered with snow, and Jerusalem residents anticipate a city covered in white tomorrow morning.

We present here old pictures of snow in Jerusalem from the Library of Congress collection. Some of the pictures were presented here last winter, but we've also added new ones found among the 22,000 pictures in the Library of Congress.



Children of the "American Colony" (1921). These pictures were
hand-colored and found in a family album.



Children of the "American Colony"
playing in the snow (1921)



"Snow-balling" on Jaffa Road in
Jerusalem (1942)

Australian soldiers and Arabs "snow-balling," possibly in
Bethlehem (1942)

http://www.israeldailypicture.com/2013/01/its-snowing-in-jerusalem-today-reminder.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+IsraelsHistory-APictureADaybeta+%28Israel%27s+History+-+a+Picture+a+Day+%28Beta%29%29

PHOTOS: Jerusalem of Gold becomes Jerusalem of White

Thursday, January 10, 2013 |  Israel Today Staff  

 

 

 

Jerusalem of Gold became Jerusalem of White overnight, treating local residents to a thick blanket of snow measuring well over 12 inches in many places.

Schools and public transportation were cancelled, and the streets of the Holy City rang with the gleeful cries of thousands of children, and not a few adults who found they are still very much children at heart.

Snow also covered numerous other towns across Israel. Most of northern Israel experienced heavy snow, and even higher peaks in the Negev desert, such as the small town of Mitzpe Ramon, woke to a winter wonderland.

Speaking of the north, all the rain and snow is causing the Sea of Galilee to rise by unprecedented amounts every hour.

Experts agree that if the current snow storm is followed by another month or two of good rain, the lake, which is Israel's main fresh water reservoir, could fully refill by the end of the winter season.

But not all the news has been positive. There has been widespread flooding damage, and a handful of people have lost their lives after being caught in flash floods.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the focus of prayers now must be that the heavy winter precipitation remains a blessing to Israel and does not become a detriment.

 

http://www.israeltoday.co.il/NewsItem/tabid/178/nid/23615/Default.aspx

‘Frankenstorm’ Lashes Israel

‘Frankenstorm’ Lashes Israel

Israel’s answer to “Superstorm Sandy” closed Tel Aviv’s major highway, and that’s only a preview. Heavy snow predicted.

 

By Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu

 

First Publish: 1/8/2013, Israel National News

 

View of a car damaged by a large tree had blown down onto a parking car by strong wind in Tel Aviv,

Israel news photo: Flash 90

Israel’s answer to “Superstorm Sandy” closed the Ayalon, Tel Aviv’s major highway Tuesday morning, and the worst is yet to come, with several inches of snow possible in Jerusalem and lesser amounts at levels as far west as the Carmel ridge near Haifa.

The Ayalon was shut down for more than an hour, for the first time in 21 years, after waters flooded the major route through the metropolitan area, casing huge traffic jams on alternate routes.

Train service from Hadera, northeast of Netanya, was cancelled because tracks and passenger platforms were flooded, and some train service in Tel Aviv also was shut down.

Gale force winds ripped trees to the ground Monday, knocking out power for hundreds of thousands of Israelis, including massive areas of Judea and Samaria.

Four inches of rain fell on the southern port of Ashdod by Tuesday morning, and up to several inches drenched some northern areas.

In a rare meteorological event for Israel, several weather fronts converged at once over the country.
Israelis’ dream of snow --- real snow and not just a dusting that sends everyone to panic – may be realized as temperatures continue to plummet and an unusually lengthy and intense storm pounds Israel from the Lebanese border to Eilat.

Snow already has piled up on the Hermon slopes, with a foot of white stuff already having accumulated on the lower slopes and more than two feet on the higher levels. Snow may begin falling on Jerusalem at night, with colder temperatures making accumulations of up to five inches possible by Wednesday night.

Weather buffs reported that maps show the snow will reach much lower levels for the first time in eight years.

The “bad weather” is great news for everyone who likes to drink water. This winter’s higher than average rain, coupled with the flow of desalinated water that has reduced the pumping of water from the Kinneret, has raised the lake’s level to the highest in years.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/163974

Stormy weather in Israel to continue through weekend - Haaretz.com

Stormy weather in Israel to continue through weekend

Strong winds and heavy rains uproot trees in Tel Aviv, sleet falls in Jerusalem; coldest day of the year expected on Friday.

The cold and stormy weather sweeping through Israel since Tuesday is expected to peak today and continue throughout the weekend, with Friday expected to be the coldest day of the year.
Snow will continue to fall on Mount Hermon and the northern Golan Heights, with a chance of snow in the center of the country as well. Possible flooding is expected in the south of the country, while in Jerusalem temperatures are expected to reach zero degrees Celsius (32 degrees Fahrenheit).

	Kibbutz Merom Golan in the snow, March 1, 2012.
	Photo by: Liki Azaria

Snow fell on Mount Hermon and at high elevations in the Golan Heights and the Galilee on Wednesday, as well as in the central mountains. In some locations, the winds exceeded 100 kilometers per hour.
A 70-year-old man in Netanya was lightly injured on Wednesday when he was struck in the head by a glass door that was blown off its hinges. Elsewhere in the city, on Yehuda Halevi Street, a tree fell on a car, but no injuries were caused.

Kibbutz Merom Golan in the snow, March 1, 2012.Liki Azaria

1/10

On Tel Aviv's King George Street, traffic was disrupted when a large tree was uprooted by strong winds, tearing down power lines, ripping a bench out of the ground and blocking the street. Traffic lights and signs were blown down around the city. In south Tel Aviv's Levinsky Park, the city erected a new tent to provide shelter for the homeless.

Aviation traffic was also disrupted yesterday. A Dutch KLM jet scheduled to land at Ben-Gurion International Airport was forced to land in Cyprus instead. The Israel Airports Authority went on a state of alert for other possible disruptions in airplane traffic.

Both Safed and Jerusalem received some 40 millimeters of rain, according to the Meteo-Tech meteorology firm, while Netanya had 30 millimeters of rain. The Mediterranean was particularly rough, with waves reaching up to nine meters.
The level of Lake Kinneret rose three centimeters over the past two days. Air pollution levels in the south were higher than average.