October 17 2007, Thunderstorms in Jerusalem, Israel

[David Shohami]

Hi everyone,

Yesterday thunderstorms developed in Israel as a result of our favorite weather system, the Red Sea trough, which brings tropical air masses from Sudan all the way north to Israel, where they meet European cool air masses, and create lovely displays such as this one. No severe weather was associated with the trough this time, however it is the main cause of severe weather in the Middle East such as >7 cm hail and flash floods.

This was the first rain (and lightning) in Israel since last May. Our Mediterranean climate means that summers here are completely dry.

 

[Mike Peregrine]

Wow - spectacular shots again, David! - Gorgeous stuff here. If you don't mind, please share your camera/lens, ISO and other settings with us so we see how you achieved these. Beautiful - low noise.

 

[Dan Robinson]

Awesome shots! What part of the city were those taken in?

 

[Melissa Moon]

Wow!!! Incredible!!!!

 

[David Shohami]

Thanks for your comments!

Mike: The camera is Canon 20D. First 4 shots were taken with Canon lens 70-200 f/4L, the last shot was taken with Canon lens 17-40 f/4L. Aperture was F8 or F10, ISO 100, manual exposure between 2 and 8 seconds.

Dan: The photos were taken from a hill north-west of Jerusalem, and they show the western-most part of the city.

 

[David Shohami]

Some more pictures from today. This time thunderstorms developed along the Jordan River Valley in eastern Israel.

 

[Laura Duchesne]

Awesome stuff there, David! Glad you were able to get something out the dry conditions... it's been rather dry here in Ontario as well, with above normal temps for the most part.