By EHUD ZION WALDOKS
02/06/2011 17:34

80 mm of rain over weekend drops on Golan after January ends with single serious storm causing Kinneret to rise just 15 cm.
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The weekend storm dropped 80 mm. of rain on the Golan, which in turn caused a significant rise in the water levels of Lake Kinneret, the Water Authority said Sunday.

Lake Kinneret rose 8.5 cm. on the back of the weekend storm that blanketed the country. More light rain is expected this week, according to the Israel Meteorological Service.

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January ended with only one serious storm, at the end of the month, and Lake Kinneret rose just 15 cm. Last January, the Kinneret rose 62 cm. Less-than-average amounts of rainfall fell throughout the country, but particularly in the center.

February, however, began with a prolonged downpour which contributed 8.5 cm. to the Kinneret. The 80 mm. of rain on the Golan Heights drained down to the Kinneret strongly for a couple of days and then tapered off on Saturday.

The weekend rains did nothing to allay the concerns of the Water Authority. Just 68 percent of the median amount of rain has fallen since the beginning of the rainy season.

The first part of an emergency plan to produce more water through artificial means has just been approved, with more elements of the plan expected to be okayed later this month.

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