Monday morning dawned grey and cold and wet and powerless for thousands of Israeli families in central Israel whose homes were hit on Sunday with the first winter storm of the season.
Hundreds of thousands of homes suffered intermittent blackouts.
High winds, rain and hail led to hundreds of homes losing power and basic infrastructure being damaged in some areas, according to the Israel Electric Company. Fallen trees damaged power lines in many areas, creating further damage but also dangerous situations in neighborhoods with children and pets.
Gusts of up to 75 to 92 kilometers per hour were recorded at Ben Gurion International Airport, which remained open despite the rain and hail. Sde Dov Airport in Tel Aviv was closed by the Israel Airports Authority for several hours but reopened by the afternoon.
By Monday morning, some homes Herzliya, Ra’anana, Netanya, Hadera, Ramle, Kfar Saba, Ness Ziona, Rehovot and even in some Tel Aviv neighborhoods were still without power.
A construction worker was killed in Pardes Hanna, and two people were hurt when a ten collapsed in the Jewish community of Har Bracha in Samaria. Flash flooding brought rescue workers out in force to extract people from vehicles unexpectedly caught in the storm, and people trapped in elevators when the power went out.
By mid-morning Monday, the sun was peeking out, however, despite a forecast that held the promise of more rain for later in the day and into the week, possibly until Thursday.
