Israel sees rainiest season in center of country in 20 years - parts hit with up to 110 mm. of rain

© Skymet Weather

Floods wreak havoc in Lebanon, Israel and Palestine |

Heavy rains battered Israel from north to south on Wednesday, as part of what the Israel Meteorological Society said is the wettest rainy season in central Israel in 20 years.

Some of the heaviest rain fall was in Petah Tikva, where over 110mm of rain was recorded, while similar levels were recorded in the Negev, flooding dry creek beds and causing serious road congestion. The North saw significantly less rainfall, only between 20-50mm, the IMS said.

So far the amount of rainfall this season is far higher than average for this time of year, the IMS said, adding that over the past 75 years there have only been three years that saw more rain by the end of November.

By Wednesday morning, the overnight rains had caused the Sea of Galilee to rise by 3.5cm.

There were several incidents of damag caused by the heavy rains, including felled trees and flooded houses and streets in towns across Israel. In Herzliya, the wall of a supermarket parking lot collapsed and caused severe damage to a few cars, while in Tel Aviv, a wall at a construction site was felled by the storm, damaging cars on the street.

Tragedy was averted on Wednesday evening in Shorek River Nature Reserve, where three men were driving in the afternoon when their car was swept away when their path was flooded. They called police and a team of firefighters and Border Police officers managed to arrive and rescue them without harm.

The storm caused heavy gridlock during Wednesday's morning rush hour, but by midday the National Traffic Police said that all intercity highways were running as normal.

The rainy weather is expected to continue in the coming days, though by Saturday the skies are expected to clear up.