Heavy snow was falling in Jerusalem on Wednesday afternoon, residents of the capital said, after a day in which dozens of people were injured throughout the country due to the inclement weather.

The Egged bus company resumed operations of its lines to Jerusalem Wednesday evening, after shutting down for a few hours citing dangerous road conditions as a result of the weather.

Electricity use also reached a record 9,450 megawatts Wednesday evening, as temperatures dropped and weather remained severe.

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Snow also began falling Wednesday morning in the Golan Heights and the Hebron area, according to local residents. By the afternoon hours, there was snow in Mitzpe Ramon in the Negev.

Seven people - a pregnant woman and six children - were lightly injured after strong winds caused the collapse of 12 tents and tin huts in a Bedouin town outside Rahat, in southern Israel.

Some 30 other town residents were treated for frostbite, and 200 tent inhabitants, members of the al-Amrani extended family, were evacuated to a Rahat school for the night.

Rescue operations encountered difficulties, as the town is isolated. The Abu-Basma municipality and the unrecognized village's council assisted with rescue operations.

MK Taleb El-Sana (Ra'am-Ta'al) called on Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to assist the Bedouin population in the Negev and create a central command center for all those affected by the weather.

Severe weather conditions also caused accidents in the north. In Acre, a woman was lightly hurt when she was trapped under a tree toppled by strong winds.

In Tiberias, a 19-year-old man was moderately to seriously injured when he was hit by a marble tile that fell off of a seven-story building. Magen David Adom rescue personnel evacuated the man to Rambam Medical Center in Haifa for treatment.

Tuesday saw heavy rains accompanied by thunderstorms and strong winds, which forecasters predicted would continue Wednesday along with hail, as temperatures continue to drop.

The forecast calls for more snow in the northern mountains, which was expected to reach Jerusalem and the central hills by Wednesday afternoon. The precipitation will gradually dissipate in the evening.

Rainfall of 70-80mm was reported at the Sea of Galilee.

Two men were killed Tuesday in road accidents and 14 others were injured. Poor visibility and slippery road surfaces apparently played a part but police said both fatalities were linked to the drivers' failing to keep their distance from vehicles in front of them.

According to Meteo-Tech, Ben-Gurion International Airport received the greatest amount of rainfall on Tuesday - 60 millimeters. By 7 P.M., 31 millimeters of rain had been recorded in north Tel Aviv, while the southern part of the city saw over 50 millimeters. Safed got 17 millimeters of rain by that hour, while 24 millimeters fell in Haifa, 31 in Zikhron Ya'akov and 10 in Jerusalem.

Snow began accumulating at Mount Hermon Tuesday morning, and is expected to spread overnight throughout the northern Golan Heights and Galilee mountaintops, reaching the central mountains and Jerusalem by this afternoon. Forty centimeters accumulated at the upper cable car, and 10 centimeters accumulated at the lower one. Officials hope to open the site for skiers by week's end.

According to meteorologist Nahum Malik, "there is a chance" the snow will even stick in Jerusalem. Temperatures Wednesday will not rise above 4 degrees, Malik said, before falling again to 1-2 degrees, and reaching zero in the evening.

Temperatures dropped Tuesday afternoon to 5 degrees in Safed (a decrease of six degrees from the day before), 3 degrees in the northern Golan Heights, 11 in Haifa, and 12 in Tel Aviv.

In anticipation of the snowfall, Rebecca Sieff Hospital in Safed began preparing for the possibility of road closures. "There is constant communication with the Safed municipal emergency center, and the access road to the hospital is a top priority in terms of clearing snow," said the hospital's director Dr. Oscar Abmon. "We've increased our supply of crude oil for heating, as well as the supply of oxygen, medication, and food, in case the hospital becomes inaccessible."

The hospital is also outfitting emergency vehicles with snow chains, and the emergency room is girding to treat cases of hypothermia and frostbite.

The Haifa municipal emergency headquarters held a coordination meeting Tuesday with the city's emergency services in order to prepare for the storm. The Water Department also has installed pumps that will operate in the event of flooding, and the municipality is preparing to remove debris, clear blocked streets, and evacuate residents.

In Jerusalem, ultra-Orthodox schools that are defined as recognized but unofficial, are threatening a closure due to the municipality's refusal to provide diesel for heating purposes. The municipality's attorney general has instructed the city not to provide the fuel, due to legal rulings prohibiting the municipality from funding schools of such status. Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupolianski asked Attorney General Menachem Mazuz on Tuesday to allow the city to provide the diesel.

Lupolianski has instructed municipal teams to keep emergency routes open, and a special situation room has been formed to deal with frozen roads.