Snow Falls in Jerusalem, 19 Inches on Mount Hermon
The snow-covered Mount Hermon, which sits on the border between Lebanon, Syria and Israel Image by Getty Images
The stormy weather continued on Monday across Israel, with snow falling in Jerusalem, Gush Etzion and Mount Hermon.
On Mount Hermon, some 19 inches of snow have accumulated at the lower station of the ski slope cable car. The site was, however, still closed to visitors. Plows were working to clear the routes in the Golan Heights. In the villages of Majdal Shams, Buq’ata and Masadeh only all-terrain vehicles could navigate the snow-blocked roads. School activities in the Golan and the upper Galilee were operating as usual. School day in the Mateh Yehuda Regional Council (near Jerusalem) and Gush Etzion in the West Bank, as well as in Kiryat Arab, were to end earlier. In Majdal, schools were closed due to the celebration of Prophet al-Khader’s Day.
Highway 90 was closed down in the Dead Sea area due to flooding.
The storm was expected to subside later on Monday, but the temperature will remain low in the coming days, with rain falling mainly in the center and south. Snow will continue to pile up on the northern mountains and around Jerusalem.
The Jerusalem municipality has been preparing in recent days for snowfall. The Jerusalem Police said they were working with the municipality, the rescue service, the Israel Electric Corporation and the army, and would beef up its forces in the capital if necessary. Drivers who get stuck in snow are instructed by police to call 100 and wait near their cars.
Citipass, the company that operates Jerusalem’s light rail, called on drivers not to abandon their cars on the rail tracks, as has happened in the past. The company said the rail was operable in accumulations of up to two inches of snow, but that service would stop if the snow was heavier than that.
Various events in the capital to mark Tu Bishvat, the Jewish Arbor Day, which falls on Monday, were canceled due to the weather.
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