Well...It Did

So I started to write this last night, but the power kept going out, as it had been doing the night before last. It was a lot of fun for it to snow in Jerusalem, but I really hope that's it for the season. And I'm a huge lover of winter and snow storms. Starting Tuesday afternoon it was incredibly windy and remained so until Thursday afternoon. And this wind was bitter, and it literally got into my bones. Couple that with precipitation that sporadically changed from rain to freezing rain to sleet to slush to ice to hail to snow and backwards and forwards and somewhere in between and you have a big, nasty mess. If we could have a calm, peaceful snow that falls overnight giving way to a beautiful and windless day, then by all means bring it on. But from what I can tell that is not how it happens here in Jerusalem. Overall, most people are saying that we got about 4 inches of snow. I had good intentions about getting up early Wednesday morning to go walk around and take pictures, but the wind was fierce and blowing around all of the mixed precipitation that I mentioned above, and I just didn't feel like braving it. I expected it to let up, which it didn't do, so I finally got bundled up and walked to the windmill park to take some photos. Afterwards I had to walk to a meeting I had scheduled with someone. I arrived quite wet from all of the slush on the ground and in the sky. When I left I walked down the hill to a main road to catch a cab home, and no sooner did I blink when a car drove by and gave me a full body splash from a giant puddle. I was soaked and freezing to the core and had to wait another 10 minutes until a cab would stop. I have found that trying to catch a cab in Jerusalem when it is rainy or snowy is about as easy as it is to do the same in New York City, i.e. nearly impossible. The snow et al continued through Wednesday night and Thursday morning. I left the house early Thursday afternoon to go to the shuk and got to take some more photos, and I happily stayed much drier than I had the day before. Families, kids, couples, singles...pretty much everyone was out at some point enjoying this rare occurrence. I was asked to take pictures for other people -- I wasn't sharp enough to count to 3 in Hebrew, so a big loud "smile!" was my cue that I was about to take the picture. A few things that I'm not used to seeing: 1) a snowman standing next to a palm tree and 2) people removing snow from sidewalks by hosing down the snow and using a large squeegee to push the slush away (everyone in Israel has tile floors and cleans them with squeegees). Today was sunny and warmer, yet some snow has continued to stick around. Jerusalem is nothing but hills and valleys, so some areas never really feel the kiss of the sun. And the extended outlook: the low 60s the beginning of next week. I used to be a cold weather person, but living in a country with stone and tile everything and in an apartment with no central heat has made me quite the complainer, so a dose of the 60s sounds wonderful. Maybe Los Angeles weather won't be such a bad thing after all.

http://www.dropshots.com/Marah# Look for January 30 and January 31 for pictures of the snow. I'm pretty sure I've put other pictures up on the site but haven't told you about it, such as my photos of Christmas Eve in the Old City of Jerusalem and Bethlehem -- I still need to blog about that. I plan to do some upkeep in the near future and will let you know when there's new stuff to look at.

Shabbat shalom from J'lem!

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....