Weather Extremes Hit the Desert - Mitzpe Ramon Again the Coldest Place in Israel

  
Weather extremes have been pounding the desert. At the beginning of this week a Chamsin was blowing hot winds and a dust storm into Mitzpe Ramon. The temperature was in the mid-90s and the air was filled with dust. On Tuesday, March 16 there was an extensive fog throughout Israel, together with dust from the Chamsin that resulted in a brown goo in the air that was quite repulsive. Driving and breathing were difficult. Infrared satellite imagery showed all of Israel immersed in cloud cover or fog cover, I don't know which, but I had never seen the entire country's outline blotted out by the weather like that before. By Wednesday the weather had started to turn, and on Thursday morning there was light rain followed by plummeting temperatures.

Earlier on the 18th, there were fair weather cumulous that would be pushed away by dark rain clouds from time to time and gusty winds. By this evening, March 18, Mitzpe Ramon had once again become the coldest place in Israel. At 10:30PM conditions were:

Temp: 45F
Wind chill: 39F
Humidity: 85%
Winds: Out of the west and gusting to 10mph

Altogether a nasty return to winter after an early taste of summer.