Massive Sand Storm Descends on Middle East

Satellite Photo of ME Sand Storm

Mitzpe Ramon in the Sand Storm 

http://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-shrouded-in-dense-sandstorm/

As Cold as a Two Sweater Dog in Mitzpe Ramon

It was cold enough on Monday, after the weekend's fierce dust storm, for Goldie to dress in her two pullovers. It may not have been as cold as a three dog night, but it was as cold as a two sweater dog.

Dressed for the cold, Goldie wears her two pullovers and still needs to sit in Chaim's lap to stay warm.

Thursday, August 19 - Hottest Day of Summer, So Far

Today must have been the hottest day of the summer so far, with temperatures reaching 101.6F at 3:30PM. I know, I measured it with my Kestrel. The heat was quite oppressive when standing in the sun, but the shade was much more comfortable, if still oven like. Fortunately, humidity in Mitzpe Ramon is quite low, reaching just 20.5% on Thursday. It was quite sultry on the Mediterranean coast with humidity ranging from 75% in Ashdod to 65% in Tel Aviv. Friday's temperatures are forecast to be even hotter: 109F in Be'er-Sheva, 102F in Mitzpe Ramon, and a scorching 116F in Eilat.

101.6F in Mitzpe Ramon on Thursday, August 19

Fortunately, we over did it on air conditioning, having three units in our small apartment. I've gotten so used to it that I can hardly bear going out in the heat of the day.

Air conditioning keeps us cool in the heat of the day.

  

Sunset on a Hot, Hazy Day

Sunset on a hot, hazy day in Mitzpe Ramon. August 15, 2010. (Click for full-size image.)

We Have A Power Failure

Last night there was a big power failure in Mitzpe Ramon. Around 4:00 AM there were explosions on the power grid, as power transformers exploded around town. According to local folks, this was a result of the unusually high humidity we've been having the last few days, which soaked the dust in the transformers and turned their innards into a mud bath, causing them to short out. According to Hanny at the CafeNeto, the high tension lines are even sprayed with water by helicopters every 3 months or so to wash the dust off and keep them from exploding, too.

Our power was out for about two hours, but the rest of town was not so lucky. The town center, where most of the services including food are located, was without power until after noon, sending all the hungry tourists and locals to the CafeNeto to eat, the only food service that still had power in town.

I walked around town during the black out. The air was quite unpleasant, heavy with humidity and even a light fog covering the ground. It also remained quite warm after sunset, with little breeze to dispel the sullen air. It had been overcast the previous day, unusual for this time of year, and everywhere in Israel temperatures and humidity were way above normal. It seems that every building in town has an alarm that sounds when there is a power failure, and then there are the generators that start-up in critical facilities as electrical backup when the power fails. What a racket everything made. I couldn't get back to sleep until after 8:00!

Sunset after an overcast, hot and humid day in Mitzpe Ramon.

At least we have our air conditioning to keep us cool - as long as the power works.

Fast of the 17th of Tammuz and One of the Hottest Days of the Year

There was a heat wave throughout Israel for this fast day, the Fast of the 17th of Tammuz. In Mitzpe Ramon at 2:30PM the temperature was 96F. In Be'er Sheva, which we also visited today, the temperature was 102F at 3:45PM, with an oppressively hot desert wind just making it feel worse. Eilat had a high of 109F today!

By sunset in Mitzpe Ramon the temperature had been brought down to 81F at the Har Gamal Lookout, with humidity of 38% and a strong westerly wind at the crater's rim of 30mph. At least the wind was cool, unlike the hot blast we experienced in Be'er Sheva.

Given the heat, and the fact also that it was a fast day, there were very few people out and about in Be'er Sheva, and traffic in the city was at a minimum. It was a good day to be inside with air conditioning, contemplating the history of the Jewish people, or just waiting out the Fast Day.

We spent it getting a chest x-ray for Pam which is a routine study required before her knee surgery. We accomplished our mission in record time, perhaps because everyone was reluctant to go out. The only other time I have seen Be'er Sheva with fewer people and less traffic was on a Friday afternoon when the streets were almost completely empty. You might want to bear this in mind, if you're looking for a time to get things done in a hurry in Be'er Sheva.

The heat gets the better of an ice cream cone in Be'er Sheva today.

  

Darkness at Noon

A huge Hamsin blew into all of Israel today, covering most of the country in a brownish-yellow haze of Saharan dust. Temperatures rose into the 90s and 100s around the country, with relief expected sometime this evening with falling temperatures. The dust storm made for a dark, hot icky day best spent indoors.

Update: Under cover of the Hamsin's haze terrorists from Gaza tried to penetrate Israel but were stopped by the IDF.

 

Mitzpe Ramon, barely discernable through the haze of a Saharan-blown dust storm (click for full size image.)

   

    

Spring Returns - March 28, 2010

Spring weather returned today, just in time for Pesach. After Friday's and Saturday's cold rain storms, the sun rose into clear skies on Sunday. By mid-day, the temperatures were balmy and shirt sleeve weather prevailed. At 11:30 AM --

Temp: 64F
Humidity: 94%
Wind: light @ 1 mph out of the north

 Weather map - 3/28/2010

 

Yesterday's Spring Storm Continues into Shabbat

I thought yesterday's Spring storm would peter-out in the evening. But no, when I awoke in the morning it was still raining, a cold wind was blowing, and deep puddles stood everywhere in Mitzpe Ramon. Throughout the afternoon the rain continued falling, sometimes quite hard. I would estimate the temperature in the 40s, wind chill in the 30s, with the wind blowing and gusting strongly out of the west. Several times during the day local streets were flooded with water runoff.

Satellite image on Saturday, 3/27/10 @ 4:00 AM

I later found out from Hanny at the 'neto that Route 40 between Sede Boquer and Mitzpe Ramon was closed from flooding several times during the day as the Wadis overflowed the road. I would estimate about two inches of rain fell over the 24 hours of the storm. Mitzpe Ramon's average annual rainfall is about 3.4 inches, which means we received about 2/3rds of our annual rainfalll in just one day. This is in addition to the 6+ inches of rain that have already fallen this year. During the earlier Winter rains in January, Mitzpe Ramon received more rain during one 48 hour period than had fallen altogether in the past 10 years. It has, indeed been a wet year, resulting in lots of desert flowers this Spring.

Desert flowers have bloomed in great numbers in this very wet year.

 

Spring Storm over Machtesh Ramon

A Spring storm blew into Machtesh Ramon today, sending temperatures into the 40s with winds gusting out of the west to 25mph. It was all quite dramatic. A lazy Spring morning...suddenly the wind picked up...clouds blew over head...then showers, followed by even colder temperatures.

The machtesh was splendid in dappled sun, fog and rain. The colors are even more intense when set off by dark sky and spotlights of sunshine.

Spring storm over Machtesh Ramon (stitched panorama - click for full size image)

For a while a rainbow tried to squeeze through, but it remained very faint but still beautiful.

A rainbow over Machtesh Ramon - faint but beautiful

  

Spring Sprang Sprung in Mitzpe Ramon

Today was Shabbos and the first day of Spring in Mitzpe Ramon. It was completely sunny, without a cloud in the sky, but quite chilly. As  the day wore on the temperatures rose with the sun, probably hitting the low 60s after noon. As the sun set, the wind picked up, as it usually does here, and the temperature dropped into the 40s. It's supposed to be much warmer later this week, in the low 70s, starting tomorrow.

At 10:45PM, Saturday March 20, 2010:

Temperature: 48F
Wind Chill: 45F
Humidity: 73%
Wind: Gusting out of the west to 6mph
 

It's a Dog's Life in Mitzpe Ramon

It's a fine day in Mitzpe Ramon, the day before the Vernal Equinox when Spring begins. It was chilly this morning, a leftover from yesterday when we were the coldest place in Israel again. As the morning advanced and towards noon the temperatures warmed from the sun to 58.7F with humidity of 45% and winds light from the west at an average of 2.5mph. Even the dogs took a snooze in the warm mid-day sun. Happy Chag Ha'Aviv to all from Mitzpe Ramon.

 A semi-homeless dog of Mitzpe Ramon snoozes in the noon day sun.

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.

Hottest Day of the Year so Far

Today was the hottest day of the year, so far. The temperature at 2:00PM was 92 F, with light winds out of the west. The heat was tempered by low humidity at 25%, making for comfort in the shade. The chamsin of earlier this week has died out, and the blowing dust has ceased. However, skies were still covered with a high haze. Winds were mild at 2.2 mph out of the west.

I guess you could say, in retrospect, that spring began here shortly after Tu b'Shevat. Until this week, temperatures had been very mild, in the 60s and low 70s during the day. The early spring flowering trees have begun loosing their blossoms as leaves replace flowers.

 

Today's Weather - 3/09/2010 - A Chamsin

A Chamsin is ablowin' in Mitzpe Ramon. A Chamsin is a hot wind from the south, straight up the Negev desert. The sky is brown with dust, there is an oppressive and humid overcast, and dust get's in your eyes. A good day to be inside, but there are alot of bikers and hikers about who don't let the weather keep them down.

 A Chamsin blows a dust storm into Mitzpe Ramon

  

The Storm of the Century - Aftermath II

It is exactly a month since the Storm of the Century dumped over 6.5 inches of rain on the Negev in 24 hours, more than had fallen in the past 10 years altogether. In its aftermath, dry river beds and wadis ran with flash floods, overflowed their banks, and washed away roads, guard rails, cars, trucks and people.

 Nachal Paran (A) and Nachal Meishar, about 40 miles south of Mitzpe Ramon

Nachal Paran is a dry river valley that lies about 40 miles south of Machtesh Ramon on the way to Eilat. Where it crosses Route 40 it joins another dry river bed, Nachal Meishar. These two rivers gushed with flash floods after last month's storms, overflowing their banks and washing away parts of Route 40. Some big trucks were unfortunate enough to try to cross Route 40 during the floods, where their drivers got into big trouble.

 Trucks caught in the flood waters of Nachal Paran

In the photo below a number of drivers and passengers get stranded on top of their vehicles as the flood waters rise.

A helicopter is called in to rescue the stranded victims.

The hapless drivers are pulled to safety in the nick of time.

 

Be careful when you drive in desert storms and don't take any unnecessary chances with water covered roads!

   

The Storm of the Century - Aftermath I

By Tuesday, January 19, the rains had subsided leaving Mitzpe Ramon shrowded in a thick pea soup fog. In town the fog covered everything with a cold haze.

A thick fog covered Mitzpe Ramon after the storm

Out on the Machtesh, a complete white out wrapped the crater in a thick gauze of white.

Post-storm fog whites out the Machtesh

But by late afternoon, the fog had burned off leaving blue sky with fair weather cumulus clouds.

 Fair weather cumulus with some thunderheads remain after the fog burns off

Around town, large pools of water accumulated everywhere.

 

And a young Ibex wanders about in the post rain fog.

A young Ibex wanders near the Lookout in the post-storm fog in Mitzpe Ramon

  

 

The Storm of the Century - II

The following day rain continued to pour down on Mitzpe Ramon and the central Negev. A rare collision of warm, moist air from Africa and cold air from Eastern Europe had created a storm that most had not seen in their lifetime. Over 6.5 inches of rain fell within 24 hours, more than had fallen in the past 10 years altogether.

I head to the Crater Overlook to experience the full force of the storm

Your intrepid reporter beats a hasty retreat from the fury of the storm

  

The Storm of the Century

On the evening of Sunday, January 17 and continuing through the next day, the Negev saw summer thunderstorms not seen in over 100 years. In one 24 hour period 6.5 inches of rain fell, more than had fallen on the Negev in preceding 10 years altogether.

The storm began as we headed back to Mitzpe Ramon from Be'er Sheva in the early evening. As we drove south the sky began to darken with clouds, and as night fell, the horizon was lit with almost continuous flashes of lightning all around us. The air began to smell of rain and suddenly it was gushing all around us. These weren't just drops but spikes of rain, long and thick and punishing as they fell. Lightning flashed all around us, as thick as a wrist before my eyes, and thunder crashed all about.

I began to fear that we might encounter a flash flood in a Wadi that would wash away the road. But the presence of a car on the road ahead of us, a bolder driver than I, gave me confidence to continue. At least he would hit the swollen Wadi first and I could stop in time from being washed away.

Fortunately, we encountered no such overflowing Wadis that night. But by the next day, drivers were not so fortunate. The road between Sde Boker and Mitzpe Ramon was flooded in many places, and in one case the rains had washed away a portion of the highway and completely crushed the guard rail at that point in the road. Several drivers were washed away and killed in the floods, and at least one driver had to be rescued from his flood-stranded truck by helicopter.

 

 A cloud to ground lightning strike develops over Machtesh Ramon

 The lightning illuminates the clouds and far side of the Machtesh

Climax of the stroke. The river that drains the Machtesh can be seen reflecting the stroke's light.

This cloud to cloud stroke illuminates the north face of the crater:

  

 

Stroke climax

The storm developed just 3 days after a national day of fasting and prayer to appeal to the Almighty to bring rain to a drought parched Israel.

Weather Forecast for the Week of 2/7/10 - 2/13/10

http://israelweather.co.il/week.asp?tbSelCity=10