Dateline Jerusalem — No wonder so many Israelis live in California. It is like living in Israel. This is especially true with respect to weather. Whatever climate changes my family experiences in Southern California, I know my town in Israel will experience them. Although not at the same latitude, only one to two degrees different, there is not much difference in weather. When my sister had a sunny day, I enjoyed the warmth here. When she needed sandbags along her patio’s sliding glass doors to stop the flood of rainwater from further entering her living room, I was sitting with candles when the strong winds and thunderstorms knocked out the electricity in my home. This is El Nino season. Recently California had been ravaged by El Nino. So had Israel.
El Nino is a climatic phenomenon that originates in the Pacific. During El Nino years, easterly winds along the equator weaken and reverse, resulting in a chain reaction where warm waters from the western Pacific move to the eastern Pacific, causing the sea level to be higher and heavy rainfall and flooding. Unlike California, which borders the Pacific, Israel, 8,000 miles away, borders the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Yet since the 1970s, there has been a significant statistical connection between above average rainfall and streamflow in Israel during El Nino years. Some scientists believe that the climate of the earth shifted in the 1970s. Israeli scientists are currently investigating physical connections between El Nino’s tropical Pacific warming and atmospheric flow patterns in the eastern Mediterranean during Israel’s rainy season.
Water Shortage Is Born
Like California, Israel suffers from a drought. Lake Kinneret, often called the Sea of Galilee, is Israel’s largest freshwater lake, source of most of its drinking water. Just a few years ago the level of the lake was so dangerously low that Israel went on water rationing, built artificial dams and seawater desalination plants, while drip irrigation sustains agriculture. The Kinneret has red lines. Last week the rainfall was so great that the Kinneret rose above the lowest red line. Over the weekend it rose another half inch. Israel’s Water Authority said this occurs only o every 10 to 20 years. Therefore, within the next four years the Kinneret could reach its optimal water level, the top-most red line.
The recent storm has brought cooler weather and snow to Mt. Hermon in the Golan Heights. By February the snow should melt and raise the level of the Kinneret. Yet despite the recent heavy rainfall, the Kinneret still is low. The shores of the Kinneret might be almost overflowing to record breaking highs, but it still is 12 feet below its maximum level.
I will have to check in with my family in California to find out the weather forecast for this week in Israel.
L’hitraot. Shachar