Heavy rains, accompanied by heavy winds and thunderous skies, poured down on Israel this Shabbat, canceling end-of-Passover hiking plans as well as traditional Mimouna festivals, The Jerusalem Post reported.
Following an abnormally hot Wednesday, temperatures began to drop on Thursday – becoming uncharacteristically low by Saturday and accompanied by sporadic bouts of strong precipitation. Snow piled up over Mount Hermon in the North, accumulating to around 10 centimeters, Army Radio said.
Temperatures were also unusually low — 9°C in Jerusalem, 16°C in Tel Aviv and 13°C in Haifa
According to The Times of Israel, it was weather uncommon for April in Israel. Channel 2 news reported that the last time such cold temperatures were seen in the country during the spring month was 1997.
As a result of the inclement weather, many municipalities canceled their outdoor Mimouna gatherings for Saturday night and Sunday. Mimounas are traditional Moroccan festivals celebrated the evening and day following Passover's conclusion –a day later this year, as a result of Shabbat.
During the 8-day holiday of Pessach, more than 55,000 people spent nights at campgrounds around the country.
About 800,000 travelers visited Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael-Jewish National Fund (KKL-JNF) forests and parks, with 700,000 heading to the sites during the chol hamoed intermediate days of Passover.
"The wintry weather of the past three days left forests empty, but by Sunday morning, we will already begin to prepare for Yom Haatzmaut, and we hope to achieve full capacity." said Hanoch Tzoref, Hahar-Adullam regional director for KKL-JNF.