Weather It Is (Evening Update)

Good Evening:

The wind gusted to 76 km/h this evening in Efrat.  During the afternoon, there were periods of heavy snow, which accumulated about 4 inches (or about 10 cm).  This is about half what was expected by evening.  The forecasts consistently showed heavy precipitation during the noon time period, yet, storms along the coastal region dissipated (for the most part) before reaching the central mountains.  Hence, the lower snow and precipitation amounts.

The forecast for the rest of the night and morning is for periods of snow and cold temperatures.  Another 10 cm or so will probably accumulate in the higher elevations of Gush Etzion and Jerusalem.

Strong winds will become lighter by morning.

From midnight Thursday until Friday night the temperatures will fall by 3 or 4 C, freezing slushy roads.  Associated with the cold air push will be some light or moderate snow, with a light or moderate accumulation.  Driving in snow covered areas may become impossible by Friday morning/afternoon -- unless roads are cleared of snow and ice beforehand.

On Shabbat (Saturday), the temperatures will slowly warm as another storm approaches from the west. There should be a lot of moisture associated with this storm.  Right now, it looks like this storm may produce some wet snow/graupel that will likely change to rain, and possibly wash away much of the snow.  There is still some uncertainty with this storm -- as there may still be some phasing with the northern jet stream -- so it will have to be watched closely.

There is a 20% of another significant storm mid next week.

Barry Lynn