The latest bout of severe weather arrives just weeks after Storm Byron, which hammered Israel’s coastline last month with strong winds and rough seas.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Rain and high winds disrupted activity across northern and central Israel on Friday as a fast-moving winter system swept in from the Mediterranean, triggering safety warnings, transportation concerns, and a renewed alert for flooding in vulnerable areas.

The first wave reached the north Thursday spreading south, setting off a series of advisories from emergency services and meteorologists.

Coastal cities and lowland communities are facing some of the strongest wind conditions so far this year, with steady speeds approaching 60 km/h (37 mph).

Mountain regions reported even harsher gusts, climbing to 70 km/h (43 mph) and occasionally escalating toward 100 km/h (62 mph).

The rising winds have turned the sea hazardous, forcing authorities to caution swimmers and small-craft operators to stay off the water until conditions stabilize.

Intermittent thunderstorms and heavy local showers affected travel routes throughout the day, reaching from the Galilee down to the northern Negev.

Flash-flood alerts were issued for the wadis near the Judean Desert and the Dead Sea, areas that often respond rapidly to even moderate rainfall. Temperatures dropped sharply as the system moved inland, though they remained within normal winter ranges.

On Saturday, northern districts and the coastal plain are likely to see the heaviest evening activity.

Sunday is projected to bring a short reprieve, though morning showers may still slow activity in the north before another system arrives Monday.

The latest bout of severe weather arrives just weeks after Storm Byron, which hammered Israel’s coastline last month with strong winds and rough seas, leaving municipalities on alert as the winter pattern continues.

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The data revealed that different cloud types produced distinct electric field patterns, offering new clues about the structure and intensity of storms.

By Pesach Benson, TPS

Israeli researchers on Thursday unveiled a groundbreaking approach to predicting severe weather events by monitoring atmospheric electric fields.

The ability to track electric field variations in real time could provide meteorologists with valuable early warnings for extreme weather events, such as heavy rainfall, flash floods, or intense storms, and inform long-term climate adaptation strategies.

By studying the Negev Desert in southern Israel, an area known for its unpredictable climate, researchers from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Reichmann University found that as these systems passed through, there were substantial increases in the Potential Gradient of the electric field, rising from typical fair-weather values of 100-200 volts per meter to several thousand volts per meter.

The study, led by Dr. Roy Yaniv from the Institute of Earth Sciences at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem in collaboration with Prof. Yoav Yair of Reichmann University, was recently published in the peer-reviewed Atmospheric Research journal.

The study focused on “wet” Cyprus Lows — a type of low-pressure weather system commonly associated with rainstorms in the Negev.

Sharp spikes in the electric field coincided with the passage of convective clouds, which are often linked to intense rainfall.

The data revealed that different cloud types produced distinct electric field patterns, offering new clues about the structure and intensity of storms.

Additionally, the study also found that factors such as the electrical charge of rain droplets and cloud structure could significantly impact the electric field, further refining the ability to predict weather patterns.

“This research demonstrates how electric field variations can serve as indicators of shifting weather patterns, allowing us to anticipate severe weather events in real-time,” said Yaniv.

“The ability to identify these changes early is especially crucial in vulnerable regions like Israel, where even minor shifts in climate conditions can lead to major local impacts.”

The ability to track electric field variations in real time could provide meteorologists with valuable early warnings for extreme weather events, such as heavy rainfall, flash floods, or intense storms.

This could be especially useful in desert and semi-arid regions where traditional weather forecasting methods are less effective due to rapid changes in weather patterns.

As climate change leads to more unpredictable and extreme weather patterns, monitoring electric fields could potentially help governments better understand shifting weather dynamics.

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