A massive system of frigid air will whip most of Israel late Thursday night and Friday morning and bring snow to areas that have not seen the white stuff for 20 years or more.
Arad, Dimona, Upper Haifa, Modi’in, Karnei-Ginot Shomron, Maaleh Gilboa, Nazareth, Kfar Saba and possibly Ben Gurion Airport will probably be covered in white Friday morning.
Snow is falling on the Hermon ski slopes and the northern Golan Heights at this time (early Thursday afternoon), and rain in other areas will turn to snow when temperatures plummet tonight. The airport in Haifa has been closed, and police probably will not allow cars to travel on the Jerusalem-Tel Aviv highway.
Last December, heavy snow trapped motorists.
Snow will fall through the night, but by Friday afternoon it will turn back to rain in lower areas. Snow will continue falling on communities where the altitude is above 2,000 feet, and later in the day above 3,000 feet, which includes Hebron, Nevei Daniel in Gush Etzion, and Tzfat (Safed).
More than a foot of snow is likely to be dumped on Jerusalem, Gush Etzion, Hebron and the southern Hebron Hills.
Smaller accumulations will fall on Arad and Dimona in the northern Negev, and possibly on Be’er Sheva and Kiryat Gat.
There is a chance that Tel Aviv residents will see snow mixed with rain.
Anyone who does not want to lift a snow shovel, and who is not in a hurry, can wait around for a couple of days. The forecast for Sunday is freezing temperatures in the morning but significant warming in the afternoon.
On Monday and Tuesday, it will be warmer than usual. There is a chance for more rain – but no snow – later next week.
Meanwhile, the Kinneret continues to add an inch or so a day, and the entire country has received the amount of precipitation that usually falls for the entire year.