Rise in temperatures, and a turn at the weekend: rain and thunderstorms on the way

The hot weather will continue today (Wednesday) and will even intensify. After the morning clouds disperse, it will become clear and there will be another slight rise in temperatures. They will be higher than usual for the season, mainly in the mountains and inland, and an additional increase in heat load will be felt. Tomorrow, temperatures will continue to be higher than usual for the season.

On Friday, there will be a slight drop in temperatures and some relief from the heat, but even then they will remain slightly higher than usual for the season. On Saturday, a turn in the weather is expected: there will be a slight rise in temperatures, but towards night hours local rain is expected to start falling in the north and center of the country, and isolated thunderstorms are possible.

The Meteorological Service noted yesterday that a single rain event in August is a rare occurrence, but two events are extremely unusual and even unprecedented. The unusual weather, which will resemble autumn, is expected to arrive during the night between Saturday and Sunday and throughout Sunday. During this time, local rains will fall in the north, center, along the coastal plain, in the lowlands, and inland. In some areas, the rain may be heavy, accumulating to double-digit amounts, mainly towards Sunday morning. These weather conditions and the expected rainfall are very rare for both August and September. If the forecast materializes, periodic rain records may be broken in some places.

August this year has already provided unusual forecasts with temperatures higher than usual for most of the month, alongside rain events that are not characteristic of this season. According to the long-term forecasts of the Meteorological Service, the August rains are only a preparation for the real autumn that will arrive at the end of September and in October, when significant rain events are already expected.

In mid-August, heavy rains hit the north and also some neighborhoods in Jerusalem and nearby settlements. The rain in the area was very strong, and at the Ma'ale Adumim station, the all-time rain record was broken — 21 mm per hour. The rain continued to fall later in the Jerusalem mountains and in Ma'ale Adumim, where 25 mm were measured, a very unusual figure for summer, and following the heavy rains, flooding began in neighborhoods in the south and east of Jerusalem.

Forecasted temperatures today and tonight:

Jerusalem 21-33, Tel Aviv 25-32, Haifa 24-31, Safed 22-34, Katzrin 22-38, Tiberias 24-39, Nazareth 23-36, Afula 23-37, Beit She'an 27-41, Lod 24-33, Ashdod 24-32, Ein Gedi 29-40, Beersheba 22-36, Mitzpe Ramon 24-36, Eilat 29-42.