Storm Byron Aims at Israel With Up to 200mm of Rain

Israel prepared for Storm Byron, forecast to bring heavy rain, strong winds and widespread flooding over several days. Some areas could see up to 200 millimetres of rain, particularly along the northern coast and in the lowlands, and authorities issued flood warnings and put emergency services on alert.

The forecast timetable ran as follows: rain reaching the northern coast on Tuesday evening, heavier showers along the coastal plain overnight, thunderstorms on Wednesday from the north down to the northern Negev with flash floods possible in low ground, and precipitation extending to the Negev and the Dead Sea region by Wednesday afternoon, raising the risk in desert stream beds. The storm was expected to peak on Wednesday night and Thursday, with flooding concentrating by late Thursday on the southern coastal plain between Rishon Lezion and Ashkelon, and rain tapering off during Friday.

Why the desert is the dangerous part

The instinct that a desert is the safe place in a rainstorm is exactly backwards. Water falling on bare rock in the Judean Desert and around the Dead Sea does not soak in; it collects in dry channels called wadis and arrives downstream as a wall, often under a clear sky, tens of kilometres from where the rain fell. That is why the warnings singled out desert streams. The Jerusalem Post reported the Israel Meteorological Service expecting winds of up to 80 kilometres per hour and flash floods in Judean Desert streams and near the Dead Sea, with the Fire and Rescue Authority telling people to stay out of flooded roads, away from stream beds, and out of basements and underground car parks.

Authorities in the original advisory listed the same set of hazards from the built environment: falling trees, poles and traffic signs, and flooded underground parking, citing past incidents that caused injuries and deaths. Swimming in the Mediterranean was strongly discouraged because of high waves and severe tidal changes. Fire and rescue teams were deployed to sensitive areas, observation posts were set up along waterways, flood rescue equipment was readied and command centres moved to round-the-clock operation with local authorities.

Municipalities acted too. Kfar Saba prepared retention reservoirs, cleared water flow routes and reinforced barriers in flood-prone zones. Ashdod cancelled a planned market over fears of underground car park flooding and told residents to avoid low-lying areas until Friday evening. Tel Aviv-Yafo cancelled its farmers’ and flea markets and put emergency measures in place, including support for people sleeping rough, while warning that extreme rainfall could still overwhelm the city’s drainage.

How storms in this corner of the Mediterranean got names

Byron was the first named storm of the season for Israel, Greece and Cyprus under a regional arrangement begun in 2021. The three national weather services set up the East Mediterranean Storm Naming Group, which named its first storm, Athina, in October 2021. The Israel Meteorological Service announced at the time that Israel would begin naming significant weather events. The point of a shared list is that a storm crossing three countries is called the same thing in each of them, which makes warnings easier to follow across borders and easier to remember afterwards.

What is still unclear

The two available accounts of the same storm do not match. The original advisory said Byron caused property damage, school closures and travel disruption in Greece and Cyprus but that no casualties were reported; the Jerusalem Post reported two deaths in Greece from flash floods before the system reached Israel. Rainfall expectations also differ: up to 200 millimetres in the original advisory against a forecast of 100 to 150 millimetres in the Jerusalem Post’s account. The advisory did not name the body issuing the Israeli forecast, and gave no figures for how many rescue teams or vehicles were deployed.