Israel Sees Rare White Purim as Snow Falls in Jerusalem, Galilee

Tuesday will be extremely cold with snowfall in the northern Golan Heights, Upper Galilee and Jerusalem Hills.

Some communities in the Upper Galilee canceled school because of the snow. In Safed, schools will open at 9 a.m.

Snow is also on forecast for the central hills at altitudes of over 700 meters, and may fall in the Negev mountains too. Intermittent rain accompanied by hail is expected from the north to the Negev, tapering off in the late evening. Frost is expected inland.

Wednesday will be party cloudy and the rain is expected to stop. Temperatures will rise slightly but will still be unseasonably cold with frost expected again inland.

Thursday will be partly cloudy and temperatures will rise again slightly. In the evening, showers are expected in the north, and snowfall is expected on Mount Hermon.

Friday will see intermittent local rain in the north and more snow on Mount Hermon, and will be partly cloudy with light intermittent rain in the center of the country until evening. The south will be partly cloudy.

The Israel Meteorological Service released a preliminary estimate of this week’s cold wave – and called it unprecedented for March, and even rare for the winter months of December through February.

• Ahead of a Freezing Purim, Israel Seeing Unprecedented Cold Wave
• Tel Aviv, Eilat Saw More Rain in One Month Than Annual Average
• White Purim Expected in Jerusalem for First Time in Decades

The Meteorological Service forecast a string of six consecutive days in Jerusalem with maximum temperatures 8 degrees Celsius below average for this time of year, and minimum temperatures three degrees lower than normal.

This is the coldest uninterrupted cold wave in March in Jerusalem since the meteorological station in Jerusalem began keeping records in 1950. Other weather stations, which have operated in the capital since the 19th century, measured similar cold waves in March only in 1910 and 1894.