The Jerusalemites woke up Thursday morning to freezing weather as heavy snow accumulated overnight throughout the city.
Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion said schools would work as normal despite a cover of 5-10 centimeters (2-4 inches) of snow still covering the city.
Snow covers Jerusalem after a stormy night
(Video: Moshe Mizrahi, Omri Scheinfeld, Netivei Israel)
Some locals did not miss the event and went out to enjoy the weather on Wednesday night.
“For a week now there have been rumors about and off about snow. We were optimistic and waiting,” two young women told Ynet while playing in the snow. “The snowball is the most interesting [the city’s last substantial snowfall in 2015]. “
Many couples and families visited the city’s Sacher Park, which is next to the Government Center, to get to know the city as well in a white, rimy gown.
For many local children, this was the first time they had seen a lot of snow accumulating, running down to seize the opportunity and walking out at night.
“I was waiting for the snow. I’ve never done anything like this. It’s awesome. I even picked up a snowman,” Oz Stein, 7, told Ynet with great pleasure.
Pressing for the stormy night in Jerusalem, fire and rescue services deployed about 200 tractors to clear the snow and dozens of crews stationed throughout the city.
The city said they were always working to clear the snow from arterial roads throughout the city, focusing on roads leading to educational institutions.
The snow will continue to fall through the morning in the northern and central mountains, and later provide rain. The rains gradually weaken later in the day, but return on Friday and there are fears of flooding in coastal and central cities.
Stormy weather and snow across the country
(Video: Nadav Eves, Nature and Parks Authority, Jamill Al-Atrash, Einav Korn, Har Amasha)
Israel’s highest peak, Mount Hermon, and the highest peaks of the Golan Heights get their fair share of snow.
Saturday and Sunday will be very cold, without rain.
After heavy rains, the water level of the Sea of Galilee rose eight centimeters (3 inches) overnight, standing at 209.48 meters below sea level, the Government Water and Sewerage Authority reported Thursday.
The Sea of Galilee is still 68 centimeters (2’8 feet) short of its full potential.
The snow also covered large areas of the Golan Heights Wednesday night, reaching the lower regions in the southern part of the plateau, as well as Mizpe Ramon and Azur in Southern Israel.