What are Israel's prevailing winds?

Answer 1

Professor Pinchas Alpert , Director of the School of Atmospheric Studies at Tel Aviv University, writes that recent studies indicate that the Land of Israel has a unique meteorological status in the world because it is situated at the point of convergence of four distinct climatic systems: two opposing low atmospheric pressure zones, and two opposing high atmospheric pressure zones.

One low pressure system, called a depression, is located in the northwest and includes the continent of Europe which receives abundant rainfall throughout the year. The second depression is located in the southeast and extends over the Persian Gulf toward India, and causes the monsoon rains in southern Asia.

Simultaneously, two other corners of Israel adjoin two opposing high pressure systems, called elevations, that cause dry, rainless climates. One system is located to the northeast, above Asia, and the other is located in the southwest, from North Africa and the Sahara Desert through the center of the Atlantic Ocean, which is a desert-like, dry region.

Israel is located at the exact point where these four weather systems converge. This is why the country is subject to contradictory weather patterns (rainy or dry) as well as highly unpredictable shifts in the direction of prevailing winds. These unusual climatic conditions make it very difficult to predict weather conditions.

There is no other inhabited region on earth that experiences such a convergence of opposing weather systems - called a "saddle" in scientific terms - with such frequency. The only other places around the globe where "saddle points" occur with similar frequency are located in mid-ocean.