Cars submerged, roads flooded as exceptional storm drenches central Israel

An unusually powerful winter storm dumped historic amounts of rain on central Israel on Saturday, flooding streets, submerging vehicles and causing infrastructure damage as more rain and thunderstorms were forecast through Sunday. At an Israel Meteorological Service station near Kedima in the Sharon region, 117 millimeters, or about 4.6 inches, of rain fell in just 75 minutes. It was the most exceptional November rain event recorded there since 2020.

Other coastal stations also measured extreme rainfall rates, including 48 millimeters, or 1.9 inches, in one hour in Binyamina and 35 millimeters, or 1.4 inches, in Hadera and Tel Aviv. Ashdod received about 90 millimeters, or 3.5 inches, over the course of the day. Flooding was reported in communities across central Israel, including Even Yehuda, where a car was submerged, while streets in several areas were transformed into fast-moving streams.

Hail also fell in Kfar Saba. Rain accompanied by thunderstorms was expected to continue Saturday across northern and central Israel, with local rainfall also forecast in the northern Negev. Forecasters warned of localized flooding along the coastal plain and flash floods in streams in the Judean Desert and Dead Sea region. Temperatures were also expected to fall below seasonal averages. On Sunday, temperatures will remain below average, with local rain continuing in northern and central Israel.

The rain is expected to weaken and become less widespread from the afternoon. Monday is forecast to remain colder than usual for the season, but no rain is expected. Two lanes of Tel Aviv’s Ayalon Highway were closed in the north-to-south direction near the La Guardia Interchange after a crack was discovered in the road. The damage was caused by a drainage infiltration problem after rainwater penetrated the area. The left lane and the express lane were closed.

The storm also damaged electricity infrastructure in Gan Yavne on Friday, cutting power to the community and nearby areas. The Israel Electric Corporation said several power lines had been severed by the weather and crews were working to repair the damage. One Gan Yavne resident who had been without electricity since Friday described repeated delays in the estimated restoration time and said elderly residents, people with illnesses and families with young children were struggling with the prolonged outage.

Heavy rainfall also caused extensive damage in the Gaza Strip, where Palestinian officials said tens of thousands of tents housing people displaced during the war were flooded. Hamas said around 70,000 tents were affected, with Deir al-Balah and Nuseirat in central Gaza among the hardest-hit areas.