Israel Faces Rare August Storms and Heavy Rain After Intense Heatwave

After several exhausting days of intense heat and heavy humidity across Israel, the summer heatwave is set to break with a sharp weather change bringing unusual rain, thunderstorms, and flood risks in urban areas. On Thursday, temperatures remained high with 41 degrees Celsius recorded in Eilat, 38 in Tiberias, and 36 in Kiryat Shmona and Beersheba, while coastal humidity intensified the heat sensation, such as in Tel Aviv where it felt much hotter than the 32 degrees measured.

Meteorologist Liad Aviv from Meteo-Tech warned that the current calm weather will soon end. Although Friday will see only a slight temperature drop, it will be a brief respite before a significant storm arrives. Starting Saturday afternoon, winds will strengthen in the mountains and local rain will begin in the north. The main event is expected late Saturday night, with a short but intense and highly unusual rainstorm for August hitting northern, central, and coastal regions.

These heavy rains will be accompanied by dramatic thunderstorms and raise serious concerns about sudden flooding in city centers. The rainfall could reach double-digit millimeter amounts in some areas by early Sunday morning, an extremely rare occurrence for August. This will be the second consecutive rain event this month, which is notable since even a single rain event in August is uncommon.

Earlier in August, heavy rains affected northern Israel and Jerusalem, with Maale Adumim recording a record 21 millimeters in one hour and 25 millimeters subsequently, exceptional for the summer season. The Meteorological Service also issued warnings about potential flash floods in the Judean Desert and the Dead Sea region due to the expected rains.

Sunday is forecast to be partly cloudy to clear with a slight temperature decrease, and local rain may continue mainly in the north and eastern areas during the afternoon.