The climate of Israel ranges from tropical during the long summer months to temperate during the few months of winter. Summer and winter are the predominate seasons in Israel.

The winter season

Winter is Israel’s rainy season, making it crucial to the nation’s water supply, with no rainfall occurring during the summer months. A typical winter in Israel lasts from November to May, though shorter winters, resulting in drought years, are common. During the winter months rainfall varies from heavy in the northern and central regions of the country to light in the northern Negev region. Rainfall in the southern Negev is negligible.

Occasional snowfall occurs at higher elevations throughout the country during the winter months.

The summer season

Israel’s summers are mostly dry and hot and typically last from May through late October. Summer conditions vary from region to region with the coastal plain experiencing humid weather, the hill regions experiencing little or no humidity and the Jordan Valley and Negev regions experiencing hot, dry semi-desert conditions.

The summer months bring periodic heat waves resulting from hot, dry desert winds from the east which cause temperatures to soar throughout the country. Rainfall is extremely rare during the summer months.

Spring and autumn are normally overlapped by the two predominate seasons, with the beginning of summer being marked by the end of the winter rains, and visa versa.