Israel Environment & Nature: Climate

Israel's climate ranges from temperate to tropical, with plenty of sunshine. Two distinct seasons predominate: a rainy winter period from November to May; and a dry summer season which extends through the next six months.

Rainfall is relatively heavy in the north and center of the country, with much less in the northern Negev and almost negligible amounts in the southern areas. Regional conditions vary considerably, with humid summers and mild winters on the coast; dry summers and moderately cold winters in the hill regions, hot dry summers and pleasant winters in the Jordan Valley; and year-round semi-desert conditions in the Negev.

Weather extremes range from occasional winter snowfall at higher elevations to periodic oppressively hot dry winds which send temperatures soaring, particularly in spring and autumn.

Temperatures (min-max)
		Safad	Haifa	Tibe- rias	Tel- Aviv	Jeru- salem	Beer- sheva	Eilat
January	deg F	31-48	48-59	45-64	48-63	43-52	43-61	48-70
	deg C	4-9	9-15	8-18	9-17	6-11	6-16	9-21
August	deg F	64-84	72-82	72-97	72-84	66-82	66-91	77-104
	deg C	18-29	22-28	22-36	22-29	19-28	19-33	25-39
Rainfall (average)
		Safad	Haifa	Tibe- rias	Tel- Aviv	Jeru- salem	Beer- sheva	Eilat
Number of Days		75	66	57	64	57	33	8
Mean Annual Rainfall	inches	28	20	17	22	19	8	1
	mm.	718	508	431	539	486	204	25

Sources: Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs