(Hai Fa – Haifa and the surrounding area news corporation) – The rain system that hit the Haifa area last weekend brought with it very different amounts of precipitation between parts of the city. Data from the three measuring stations: the Technion, the university, and the refineries, indicates that the weighted average in a simple arithmetic calculation of the three stations is approximately 33.8 mm of rain during November 6-8. However, behind the average are significant gaps: in Carmel and the university area, more than 50 mm fell, while in the refinery area, only less than 4 mm was measured.
The rain came in two waves.
On Friday, November 6, the rain system began to affect the Haifa and Carmel areas. On Saturday, November 7, the rain continued, bringing the total precipitation over the two days to approximately 33 mm, which is approximately 8% of the annual average.
Not all regions saw the same amount of decline.
The rainfall was unevenly distributed across the country. According to measurements published on Saturday, Haifa received about 33 mm, compared to 72 mm in Binyamina, 60 mm in Nahariya, and 55 mm in Hadera. The differences illustrate how much precipitation amounts can vary between neighboring areas, depending on the path of the rain clouds and their intensity.
And what happened to the Sea of Galilee following the rains?
Despite the amounts of rain measured in various regions of the country, the system's impact on the level of the Sea of Galilee was moderate. According to an update from the Water Authority on Sunday, November 8, the level of the Sea of Galilee rose by only one centimeter over the weekend, and stands at a height of approximately 213.70 meters below sea level.
Only about 20 mm of rain fell over the Sea of Galilee itself, and the flow of the Jordan River was about 6 cubic meters per second. The Water Authority noted that the impact of the rainfall on the flow in Jordan is still small to imperceptible, and that most of the precipitation in the current system was concentrated along the coastal plain, with an emphasis on the southern coastal plain.
Winter is just beginning.
The slight rise in the level of the Sea of Galilee is a positive sign, but it does not yet change the water situation in Israel. The Sea of Galilee remains about 70 cm below the lower red line, and the continuation of the winter will be significant for filling the water reservoirs and renewing the flow of the streams.
In Haifa, however, the last two days of rain have already provided a significant dose of precipitation and provided a reminder that the rainy season is gradually entering its activity. Now we can only hope that the next rain systems will continue to bring precipitation to both our area and the Kinneret catchment basin.