The past month has been the rainiest ever October in Israel since records were begun, the Israel Meteorological Service reports. As of 4pm Thursday afternoon, a remarkable 219 mm had been recorded at Kibbutz Shefayim north of Tel Aviv over the past month. The Sharon region north of Tel Aviv was easily the wettest part of the country, especially over the past week, with 124 mm recorded in Ra'anana and 115 mm in Kfar Shmariyahu. The monthly average in this region is a mere 35 mm.
Other parts of Israel also recorded handsome rainfalls during October. Kibbutz Erez in the south near the Gaza border recorded 112 mm and generally the coastal and inland plains had 40-80 mm of rain over the past month.
Exceptional October rainfalls were also recorded in arid parts of the country such as the Jordan Valley (42 mm), southern Dead Sea (37 mm) and Yotvata near Eilat (31 mm). Rainfall was much more modest in October in Jerusalem and the Judean Hills (20-25 mm) and the Galilee mountains (10-25 mm).
The rainfall wreaked major havoc with the country's infrastructures, especially the electricity grid in the Sharon region, where tens of thousands of households were left without power for long periods, and the roads in the south.
The Israel Meteorological Service forecasts the rain tapering off today with pleasant, sunny weather on Saturday and Sunday with the rain possibly resuming on Monday.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on October 30, 2015
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