Rain in Jerusalem (file)
Rain in Jerusalem (file)Flash 90

During the Shemini Atzeret holiday on Monday Jews changed to the prayer for rain, and it appears as if those prayers have been answered without delay - late on Tuesday night around 2 a.m. heavy rains watered the Holy Land.

The precipitation marks the first full rains of a dry year, in which this season an official 0 millimeters of rain were recorded. But that changed with rainfall throughout the north, the coastal region, the Jerusalem area and on down to the south.

The first rains brought with them electricity outages overnight in several coastal cities, including Raanana, Rehovot, Ramat Gan, Petah Tikva, Holon, and several neighborhoods of Tel Aviv including the ritzy Ramat Aviv in the north of the city.

Israel Electric Corporation (IEC) reported on disruptions in the electricity supply to several cities, noting that numerous residents have been flooding the IEC's phone lines with complaints.

"A month ago there was a great sand storm that put dust on the electric lines, and this morning with the meeting of the dust and first rain mud was created, which penetrated into the electric systems," explained IEC Vice-President Oren Helman. "Generally we wash it (the dust - ed.) but this time we had a problem in terms of timetables of the washing, and the rain created mud throughout the country."

No less than 40 millimeters fell in Ashdod, 35 in the north Sharon coastal plain, and 25 in Raanana. Considerable rainfall was recorded in the north as well, and reached as far as the Be'er Sheva area of the Negev as well as the Gaza Belt.

The rain is anticipated to continue periodically on Wednesday from the north of Israel to the north Negev, and may be accompanied by thunder storms. There is a danger of flooding in the Judean Desert and Dead Sea.

Over the course of the day the rain is to weaken even as temperatures drop below seasonal averages, reaching highs of 29 Celsius (84 Fahrenheit) in Tiberias, 26 C (79 F) in Haifa and Tel Aviv, 21 C (70 F) in Jerusalem, and 27 C (80 F) in Be'er Sheva.

Thursday is expected to be partially cloudy with local rain showers in the north and center of Israel, as temperatures rise slightly but stay below seasonal norms. Friday will continue to be cloudy and with a chance of rain, and on Saturday some rain in the north is expected with a continued light rise in temperatures.