They say it once snowed here

Although Israel is not considered a cold country, certainly not the Tel Aviv area, every winter still brings a few freezing days, at least by our standards. Sometimes, though, the weather goes a little wild and becomes exceptionally cold. The last and most powerful instance was in 1950. That year, Israel experienced its most significant cold spell since measurements and records began in 1870.

So, just before winter begins, let us remember, or tell those who had not yet been born, about the days when Tel Aviv was covered in white.

A cold January

It all began in January. It was a cold winter, and snowflakes fell in the Jerusalem and Galilee hills, which is not considered unusual. Toward the end of the month, another cold spell arrived. On the 27th, snow began accumulating in Jerusalem and the northern hills, then in the hills of Judea and Samaria. On the 28th, snow also began falling in Haifa, where it reached a depth of 15 centimeters, and the first snowflakes fell in Tel Aviv for a few minutes. That caused excitement, but nobody knew it was only the beginning.

The event passed, but a few days later the cold spell returned, this time with greater intensity. On 6 and 7 February, snow was reported across most of the country, including the Negev hills. On 8 February, 8 centimeters of snow were reported even in the Dead Sea area. In Tel Aviv, the snow accumulated to a depth of about 20 centimeters!

Excitement and problems

You can imagine the excitement among children and residents across the country. It was a period of large waves of immigration from Arab countries, and many people had never seen snow in their lives. Tel Aviv's children went out to play in it, but Israel was not prepared for weather like this, and it caused serious difficulties, especially for people living in ma'abarot (immigrant transit camps).

Electricity and telephone systems collapsed, public transport stopped and agriculture, the country's main export sector, suffered severe damage. At the Ein Shemer immigrant camp, the storm also claimed four lives when a ceiling collapsed under the weight of accumulated snow.

Is there a chance we will see snow in Tel Aviv this year?

No forecaster would commit to that, and such events are very difficult to predict. Statistically, it is estimated to be a once-in-a-century event. Recent decades have brought many changes in the weather, and alongside gradual warming there have also been more extreme weather events, including cold spells. Existing models therefore do not always manage to predict the weather, and there is no real way to know. Of course, there is no particular reason to assume there is a chance of snow in Tel Aviv specifically this year.