Temperature highs to hit 42° C (107° F) in south, peak temperatures to hit on Tuesday.
By Noam (Dabul) Dvir
A heat wave that will bring temperatures reaching 42 degrees Celsius (107 degrees Fahrenheit) began sweeping over Israel Monday, with peak temperatures to hit Tuesday.
In Eilat, residents braced for the most extreme heat while even in Tel Aviv the forecast predicted temperatures reaching 38 degrees Celsius (100.4 degrees Fahrenheit).
The heat is forecasted to affect all of Israel, with Haifa forecasted to reach 37 degrees Celsius, Be’er Sheva 39 degrees and Jerusalem 34 degrees.
The heat is expected to rage in the Negev desert region.
According to meteorologist Tzachi Waxman from the Meteo-Tech weather website, the temperatures in the Hula Valley, Kineret, Dead Sea and Arava desert will surpass 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit).
Humidity will be very low at 5 to 15 percent. “This low humidity is abnormal,” said Waxman. “This happens due to two processes,” said Waxman. “The first, hot air that arrives from the Sahara Desert. The second – sinking air that compresses towards the ground…”
“Usually hot air rises and cools, creating humidity, but now its exactly the opposite. These two processes cause a heavy heat wave,” said Waxman.
View original Ynet publication at: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4658508,00.html