Does It Snow in Israel?

Zach Mandel Jan 10, 2025 4 min read

Short answer: As of July 2026, yes, it snows in Israel, but only in specific high-elevation places and only for part of the winter. Mount Hermon in the Golan Heights is the reliable snow destination and home to Israel's only ski resort, while Jerusalem and the Upper Galilee hills get an actual accumulating snowfall only once every few years. Most of the country (the coastal plain, the Negev, Tel Aviv, Eilat) essentially never sees snow.

What the record actually shows

February 6, 1950: Jerusalem recorded its largest snowfall since meteorological measurements began in 1870, roughly 100 cm deep, with snow reaching even Tel Aviv and Haifa. It remains the benchmark storm no later event has matched on the coastal plain (Wikipedia, "Snow in Israel").
December 13, 2013: A rare multi-day blizzard buried Jerusalem under roughly 40 to 60 cm of snow (with up to about a meter in the Golan to the north), knocking out power and closing the airport in what was widely called Israel's worst storm in decades and its heaviest December snowfall in about half a century (Wikipedia; Times of Israel).
February 29, 2020: The Times of Israel, running a JTA report, profiled Mount Hermon as the country's only ski mountain and noted the counterintuitive fact that it shuts down when it actually snows, because the steep access road is treacherous for drivers unused to winter conditions (Times of Israel / JTA).
January 26, 2022: Winter storm Elpis brought about 20 cm of snow to Jerusalem, its heaviest in years, and around 20 cm overnight to Mount Hermon, closing schools across the north and the capital (Times of Israel).
October 7, 2023: The Mount Hermon ski resort was closed as a military zone at the start of the war, over fears Hezbollah might attempt a cross-border assault in the north, and the site stayed shut through the following winter as rockets and drones hit the area (Times of Israel; Jerusalem Post).
March 4, 2025: Israel's only ski resort reopened on Mount Hermon after a war-forced closure of nearly a year and a half, though rocket damage to the ski lifts and a mild, low-snow winter limited it mostly to sledding and a cable car rather than full skiing (Times of Israel; Jerusalem Post).
November 14, 2025: The first snow of the 2025-26 season fell on Mount Hermon as storms swept across Israel, signaling the start of winter and renewed hopes for the recently reopened resort (JNS).

Where the snow actually falls, and why

This is a weather and geography question, not a person or a brand, so there is no question of anyone "supporting Israel." What people are really asking is where and when Israel gets snow, and the answer comes down to elevation. Israel's climate is mostly Mediterranean and semi-arid, so snow tracks with height above sea level rather than with the calendar alone.

Mount Hermon, in the northern Golan Heights, is the country's snow hub and holds Israel's only ski resort (about a dozen trails, lifts and a gondola, with no artificial snow). In good winters it runs tens of ski days between January and March and draws hundreds of thousands of visitors, most of whom come simply to see snow rather than to ski. Jerusalem and the Upper Galilee hills sit high enough (around 700 meters and up) to get an accumulating snowfall, but only intermittently, typically once every few years, which is why a Jerusalem snow day becomes national news and closes schools. The lowlands tell the opposite story: the coast, Tel Aviv, the Dead Sea area and Eilat effectively never accumulate snow, and there has been no accumulation on the coastal plain since the record 1950 storm.

One nuance on elevation is worth flagging, because older write-ups often get it wrong. Mount Hermon's 2,236 meter viewpoint (Mitzpe Hashlagim) is sometimes called "the highest point in Israel," but that is imprecise. The true Hermon summit is about 2,814 meters and straddles the Syria-Lebanon border; 2,236 meters is the highest point in Israeli-controlled territory in the Golan Heights, while Mount Meron is the highest point within sovereign Israel proper.

The bottom line

Yes, it snows in Israel, reliably on Mount Hermon from December through March and occasionally, every few years, in Jerusalem and the northern hills, while most of the country stays snow-free. The snow story is really a story about elevation and season, not about the whole country turning white.

Carry a piece of Israel through the winter

You do not have to be standing in the snow on Mount Hermon to feel connected to Israel in the cold months. If you want something warm for an Israeli winter (or your own), our IDF hoodie is a simple way to wear that pride, and there is a whole sweatshirts and hoodies collection built for exactly this season. Every purchase supports Israel directly.

Last updated July 2026. We update these profiles as the record changes.