Record Rainfall in Southern Israel Triggers Flash Floods, Road Collapse
Translated & summarized from Ynet by baba
Record rainfall in southern Israel on election day caused severe flash floods and a road collapse near Neot HaKikar. The Ramon Crater area received 35.6 mm of rain in 10 minutes, a rate with a 200-year return period. Heavy rains also hit eastern Israel, while the weekend forecast includes cooler temperatures and light rain in the north before warming up.
The story in 6 lines · by baba
- Southern Israel experienced record rainfall of 35.6 mm in 10 minutes, a 200-year event.
- Flash floods caused widespread disruption, including road closures and polling station access issues.
- A massive boulder swept by floods caused a collapse on the access road to Neot HaKikar.
- The extreme rainfall event occurred on election day, Tuesday.
- Rainfall records were broken in the Ramon Crater area.
- The weekend forecast predicts cooler temperatures and light rain in the north.
Heavy rainfall on election day, Tuesday, shattered records in southern Israel, particularly in the Ramon Crater area, where 35.6 mm of rain fell in just 10 minutes. This extreme weather event, described by the Meteorological Service as unusual with significant precipitation in the south and east, caused widespread flash floods in streams across the Dead Sea, Negev, and Arava regions. The intense downpours were accompanied by thunderstorms, hail, and strong winds in some areas.
The floods led to extensive road closures in the south, preventing residents from reaching polling stations and forcing them to vote at alternative locations. The intensity of the floods in streams like Nekarot and Tzin was deemed exceptionally rare.
Following the floods, a massive boulder was documented being swept along the Tzin stream overnight Tuesday to Wednesday. This boulder caused a collapse on road 2499, the access road to Neot HaKikar.
The 35.6 mm rainfall in 10 minutes recorded in the Ramon Crater's Givon stream surpassed the previous record of 33.4 mm in 10 minutes set in Jericho 39 years ago, in 1987. The Meteorological Service stated that the probability of such high rainfall intensity in this timeframe is 0.5%, corresponding to a return period of once every 200 years.
Beyond the south, significant rainfall was reported across eastern Israel, from the Eilat Mountains to the Hermon. Looking ahead, a slight drop in temperatures is expected on Friday, with light local rain in the north and along the coast. Saturday will see warming temperatures, continuing into early next week.
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