The Seasonet web site estimates that November and December will be relatively dry but that rains will drench Israel in January, February and March. It predicts snow in the middle of February.
Boaz Dayan, who runs the Israel Weather site, estimates that the heaviest rains will fall in November and February, with snow in the north in the middle of January and snow in Jerusalem in mid-February. He predicts that March also will be wetter than usual.
The Kinneret stands at 211.63 meters below sea level and 2.73 meters below its flood level. The gap is far larger than at the beginning of last winter because the water authority decided to take advantage of heavy rains and pump water from the lake to areas which usually rely on underground aquifers.
The reasoning was that the underground sources were in danger of permanent damage because of low water levels and that failure to pump extra water would result in having to open the lake's dams in order to prevent flooding in Tiberias and towns and kibbutzim adjacent to the lake.
However, environmentalists have said opening the dams would be beneficial for the Dead Sea, where the volume of water has decreased over the years.
Dayan estimates that the southern and central parts of the country will receive higher than average rainfall while precipitation will be average in the north but enough to replenish the Kinneret.
The rest of this week is expected to be cold and wet, with most of the rainfall in the north.
Boaz Dayan, who runs the Israel Weather site, estimates that the heaviest rains will fall in November and February, with snow in the north in the middle of January and snow in Jerusalem in mid-February. He predicts that March also will be wetter than usual.
The Kinneret stands at 211.63 meters below sea level and 2.73 meters below its flood level. The gap is far larger than at the beginning of last winter because the water authority decided to take advantage of heavy rains and pump water from the lake to areas which usually rely on underground aquifers.
The reasoning was that the underground sources were in danger of permanent damage because of low water levels and that failure to pump extra water would result in having to open the lake's dams in order to prevent flooding in Tiberias and towns and kibbutzim adjacent to the lake.
However, environmentalists have said opening the dams would be beneficial for the Dead Sea, where the volume of water has decreased over the years.
Dayan estimates that the southern and central parts of the country will receive higher than average rainfall while precipitation will be average in the north but enough to replenish the Kinneret.
The rest of this week is expected to be cold and wet, with most of the rainfall in the north.