“Fire and hail, snow and vapour, stormy wind, fulfilling His word;” (Psalms 148:8)

Roads were closed for the morning and school was cancelled throughout Jerusalem and the surrounding areas in response to unusually heavy snow that has fallen in the city since Thursday morning.  Ten snowplows and ninety tons of salt, along with salt-spreading machines and tractors, were readied for the occasion.  The storm marks the heaviest December snowfall since 1953.

Click here for majestic pictures of snow in Jerusalem throughout history. https://www.israel365news.com/8-majestic-old-new-photos-snowy-jerusalem/

“Snow in Jerusalem is a cause for celebration for Jerusalemites and the many visitors who come to see the world’s most beautiful city painted white,” said Mayor Nir Barkat, in a visit to the city’s public works department to check on preparations for the storm. “We hope the snow won’t disappoint, especially for Jerusalem’s excited children, who are looking forward to it.”

Despite Barkat’s enthusiasm, he did ask drivers to refrain from taking to the roads unnecessarily.  Buses are running on an emergency schedule, and Jerusalem’s Light Rail service is operating.

Thursday’s snow is part of a storm system that first hit the country at the beginning of this week.  It dumped snow in Jerusalem and the north, and rain throughout the country.  Water levels in the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) have risen 2 cm.

Dr. Amos Porat of the Meteorological Service said, “At the moment we’re only in the initial stage of the present system.  It will enter gradually with cold air, rain and snow, with stronger and weaker waves. On Shabbat the system will decline gradually.”

The Meteorological Service reported that since the beginning of the storm two days ago and up to yesterday afternoon, the largest amounts of rain, 40-60 mm., were measured in the southern Coastal Plain, the central mountain areas and the Sharon. The north and the center received 20-40 mm. and in the south there was almost no rain. In Jerusalem, 51 mm. of rain fell and in Tel Aviv 41 mm. Haifa received only 14 mm.