Will It Or Won't It?

Well, the wind is howling and the trees are swaying. The palm trees just don't know what to think, especially the tall skinny palm tree outside our living room window. We live on the 5th floor, and the actual palms are at a 6th or 7th floor height. This tree freaks me out on an average windy day, but everyone says that they are made to sway. The city high on the hills of Israel -- Jerusalem -- is preparing for a winter storm. But "winter storm" in Jerusalem doesn't mean much, at least compared to a lot of you readers back in the states who have been shoveling out your cars and sending your kids zipping down hills on sleds for the past 2 months. If it snows 2 inches in Jerusalem, the city will shut down for a day. There are only a few snow plows, and cars and drivers are not made to do well in the snow. They aren't made to do well on a clear and sunny day, either, trust me. There has been a buzz in the air for days now about the possibility of snow. If it snows at all, it usually only snows one time a year, so this could be it. I've been told by so many that Jerusalem is gorgeous when it snows. I believe it and can only imagine the picturesque views everywhere you turn -- the walls of the Old City and the Dome of the Rock crowned with snow. There appears to be a universal code for weather forecasters around the world, i.e. you can't trust them because they really just don't know what they are talking about and are often wrong in their forecasts. As I sit here and listen to the howls and whistles of the wind, I don't blame them for their inaccuracy, as Mother Nature is truly a force to be reckoned with, global warming or not. People are already canceling or rescheduling activities and appointments; Hebrew Union College sent out an email about what happens when it snows here and how it could affect the start of the new semester, which is tomorrow. I've even caught the bug and emailed someone to reschedule this evening's meeting. I laugh at myself over that one, but hey, when in Rome.... Will it snow tonight, or tomorrow, or tomorrow night, or Thursday...or not at all? That's how unpredictable it is. But it's kind of fun to be caught up in the buzz of it all, regardless. When Rachel wakes up early tomorrow morning to get ready for school, she'll tell me if there is snow or not. If not, then more sleep will be in order. But if there is snow, I'm throwing on some boots and warm clothes, grabbing my camera and heading out into the wild white yonder to capture some of the beauty that everyone talks about. Seeing snow in Jerusalem will most likely be a once in a lifetime opportunity for us, unless of course it snows again before the winter is over, which would once again prove the "weather rebbe" wrong and Mother Nature right, as it should be.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/805786.html

This is a link to an article I just found online after googling "will it snow in jerusalem?" See what I mean about Israeli drivers? Oh, and an "extreme cold front" here in Jerusalem means near freezing at night and around 40 degrees during the day. And one last thing -- Rachel learned today that when snow is predicted, Israelis from Tel Aviv and other warmer, coastal cities will book hotel rooms in Jerusalem so that their kids can play in the snow. For the sake of them, if no one else, I hope it snows. To be continued....