Winter storm Elpis coated Jerusalem with almost eight inches of snow overnight into Thursday after blanketing the northern Golan Heights, the Upper Galilee and Mount Hermon.
The Jerusalem municipality closed schools on Thursday and recommended that residents stay close to home, after some 20 centimeters (eight inches) of snow descended on the city.
Snow in Jerusalem on Thursday. Ohad ZwigenbergSnow in Jerusalem on Thursday.A man on a snowy street in Jerusalem on Thursday Ohad Zwigenberg
Road 1, the main highway between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, was blocked due to the snow but has since re-opened.
About a meter and a half of snow has already blanketed Mount Hermon, which has been closed to visitors, and more is expected in the area over the next few days. The water level at the Sea of Galilee has already risen five and a half centimeters (about two inches) as a result of the snowfall.
Students in the northern and central Golan Heights will be studying remotely due to the storm.
Palestinians enjoy the snow next to the Dome of the Rock Mosque on Thursday Mahmoud Illean /APDome of the Rock covered in snow on Thrusday Mahmoud Illean /APSnow in Jerusalem on Thursday Ohad Zwigenberg
Thursday is expected to be rainy and stormy from the north to the northern Negev, with snow in the mountains. Later Thursday, the snow will turn to rain, except on Mount Hermon, the northern Golan Heights and Mount Meron. Streams may flood.
Friday will see rain on and off from the north to the northern Negev, with snow on Mount Hermon and possibly in the northern Golan. Saturday will be unseasonably cold, with light rain in the north and center.
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Children playing in the snow in the West Bank settlement of Efrat, on Wednesday. Emil SalmanSnow in the Golan Heights on Wednesday Gil Eliahu
Netivei Israel – the National Transport Infrastructure Company – has beefed up its staff in the Golan and brought in snowplows, heavy vehicles and salt dispensers. Police have also blocked several roads in the Golan Heights area.
Reports of stone-throwing and snowballing at police and pedestrians Wednesday night resulted in the arrest of 22 Palestinians in East Jerusalem. Snowfall in the capital in recent years has regularly been accompanied by clashes between the police and Palestinians.
According to climate scientist Dr. Amit Givati, the cold front began in Russia and is unusual for the eastern Mediterranean region. He added that while it may seem to contradict the trend of global warming, such abnormal weather is a direct result of climate change.
Snow in Jerusalem, on Wednesday. Ohad ZwigenbergHorses in the snow in the Golan Heights on Wednesday Gil Eliahu
As the earth’s temperature increases, storm paths are altered, resulting in bursts of cold air from the polar-regions descending to lower latitudes. This climatic pattern has caused atypical weather in various locations around the world, and this particular cold front has already made its way through much of Turkey and Greece.
The Turkish resort town, Antalya, saw its first snow in 29 years, and Istanbul was hit with over 80 centimeters over the last few days. Istanbul Province governor Ali Yerlikaya banned private vehicle traffic after Monday night’s snowfall left numerous residents stranded in their cars in freezing temperatures.
In Athens, travelers had to be rescued from their vehicles and taken to shelter at the airport on Sunday. Thousands of cars remained stuck on the road as of Tuesday, with snowplows working to extricate them.
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