Ashkelon firefighters rescued approximately eight civilians from their cars, trapped in floods across the city after a night of heavy rainfall, the Fire and Rescue Authority said Friday morning.
Several cities along the coast experienced heavy rain on Friday morning, from Haifa to Ashkelon, where 61 millimeters fell in just an hour and a half, causing flash flooding.
Rain will continue intermittently throughout the day in the north and in the center of the country, accompanied by thunderstorms.
Rain is also expected in the northern Negev and the Judean Desert, with a slight risk of flooding. Temperatures will drop below usual for the season.
Rain to continue throughout the weekend
The wintry weather will continue throughout the weekend but is expected to moderate as time passes, with no rain currently forecast for the beginning of next week.
On Thursday, 18 mm of rain was recorded in Acre over two square kilometers, and even in Sdom, around the southern parts of the Dead Sea, heavy rain fell. The most rain fell at Kibbutz Regavim, where 27 mm of rain was recorded in just one hour.
In Tel Aviv, 15-22 mm fell; in Jerusalem, 12-17 mm fell; in Haifa, 15-19 mm fell; in Afula, 14-20 mm fell; in Katzrin, 14-17 mm fell; in Beit She'an, 17-22 mm fell; in Ashdod, 15-20 mm fell; in Ashkelon, 15-23 mm fell; in Beersheba, 14-21 mm fell; in Mitzpe Ramon, 12-17 mm fell; in Ein Gedi, 17-25 mm fell; and in Eilat, 18-26 mm fell.