Dateline Jerusalem – I realize it is the middle of November and the weather should be fall or winter-like. I am spoiled by Israeli weather. It has been sunny and in the 80s, without humidity, under brilliant blue skies,  for the last few weeks. Perfect. Today's forecast and for the rest of the week, however, indicates it will be cooling down. The temperature is expected to be in the high 70s, and for today, a comfortable 79 degrees,  which means I finally can turn off my air conditioner.

Yesterday, all of a sudden, I heard a rolling thunder, similar to the sound of the jets that fly over my home.  Then came the lightning and a downpour.  It came in torrents, flowing like a river on the street in front of my apartment, its fast current almost as high as the sidewalk.  I was on the telephone with a friend in Jerusalem who informed me of her bright sunny day there.  But today it was hot and sunny, without any sign that we had a thunderstorm yesterday.

The climate in Israel is Mediterranean, as Israel is on the Mediterranean Sea. Summers are hot, rainless and last many months.  Winters are cool, rainy and last a short time. Because Israel’s geography is so diverse, the climate varies accordingly. Deserts usually are hot and arid, the mountains cool and snowy in the winter. The closer to the Mediterranean, the more subtropical and humid it gets.

January is the coldest month and August, the hottest month in Israel.  The resort city of Eilat, on the tip of the Red Sea on the Gulf of Aqaba, can get summer temperatures as high as 117 degrees.  It has sunny weather 360 out of 365 days.  The Negev Desert often reminds me of California's Mojave Desert, extremely hot during the day, quite cool at night.  Jerusalem is inland at a high altitude and a sweater is often needed at night, even during the summer. It  always seems to have snowfall in winter.  Mt.  Hermon, in the Golan, is the highest point in Israel, a ski resort in the north that has snow through March.  Most rain in Israel falls between November and March. Usually there is no precipitation June through September.  Because Israel tends to be so dry most of the year, we have had water shortage problems in the past.

I have been in Israel since the summer of 2007 and this past summer seemed the least humid to me.  Though many of my friends complained of the humidity.  Of course, I had my air conditioner going 24/7.  I was here in 2010 when Israel experienced the hottest summer in its history, hitting record temperatures in August and very hot weather continuing through November.  I guess everything else seems comfortable compared to that year.

L'hitraot.  Shachar