Weekend Storm Turns Deadly in Middle East

By Eric Leister, Meteorologist

October 26,2015; 12:24AM,EDT

 

 

The storm system that brought heavy rain and severe weather across Greece and western Turkey late last week and into the weekend turned deadly on Sunday in Israel. This storm will continue to threaten the region through at least the beginning of the week.
Impacts from the storm will be felt across the Middle East with showers and thunderstorms reaching from Syria, Lebanon and Israel to northern Saudi Arabia, Iraq and eastern Turkey Monday.

On Saturday, heavy rain and severe weather was seen across southern Greece and the west coast of Turkey. Rainfall from Friday afternoon into Saturday surpassed 50 mm (2 inches) in many areas and reached 77 mm (about 3 inches) in Cesme, Turkey.
This rainfall, in addition to the heavy rain that has already fallen over the region in recent days, will result in a high threat for flash flooding.
Marmaris, in southwest Turkey, received around 250 mm (10 inches) of rainfall from this storm system as of Friday morning.

As this system pushes to the east over the weekend, severe thunderstorms moved into Lebanon and Israel, bringing damaging wind gusts, large hail and flooding rain. These storms turned deadly in Israel as high winds toppled a wall at a construction site, burying a worker, reported the Israeli news agency Arutz Sheva.
High wind gusts toppled a crane in Tel Aviv as storms rushed across the city. Wind reported at Dov Hoz Airport in Tel Aviv around the time of the collapse reached 36 mph.
These storms brought more than just damaging wind across the region. Large hail and flooding rain fell in parts of Israel as well.

Hail in Israel taken on Sunday, October 25, by Twitter user xSternal.

Flooding in Israel taken on Sunday, October 25, by Twitter user xSternal.
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While AccuWeather meteorologists think that the threat for severe weather will not be as significant early this week in Israel and Lebanon, there will continue to be showers and thunderstorms across the region.
During the middle of the week the threat for heavy rain and possible flooding will advance into the mountainous terrain along the Iraq and Iran border.
Content Contributed by Meteorologist Adam Douty