Falling tree narrowly misses family's Tesla as storm floods central Israel

A tree brought down by stormy weather near Moshav Tzur Moshe came close to striking a car carrying a family from Jaffa, Ynet reported. The vehicle, a Tesla, stopped just before the tree fell, after its autonomous driving system applied the brakes. The father told Ynet that the rain had been so heavy that he and the car braked together, and described the moment as feeling like slow motion.

In the same report, Ynet said firefighters were called to carry out a rescue from an underground car park in Ramat Gan that had flooded. The outlet published footage from the storm alongside a forecast warning of further rain, thunderstorms and a risk of flooding into the following day.

Where the incidents happened

A moshav is a type of Israeli cooperative farming village, in which families work their own plots while sharing some services and purchasing. Tzur Moshe is one such community in central Israel. Jaffa, where the family in the car lives, is the ancient port city that now forms part of the Tel Aviv municipality. Ramat Gan is a city bordering Tel Aviv to the east, part of the dense urban area that Israelis often call Gush Dan.

Underground car parks in built-up areas are vulnerable when heavy rain falls faster than drainage systems can carry it away, and Israel's fire and rescue services are routinely called to such sites during storms. The reports do not say whether anyone was trapped in the Ramat Gan car park or what the rescue involved.

The forecast for the rest of the storm

By the following morning, Ynet's updated forecast described the end of a wintry weekend, with local rain still expected in the centre and north of the country. The outlet said the showers were expected to ease from the afternoon. It flagged a concern about local flooding along the coastal plain and said rain was also possible in the northern Negev until nightfall.

A separate Ynet alert repeated the core warning: local rain in the north and centre, and a risk of localised flooding on the coastal plain.

Ilanit Adler, a weather presenter, gave a similar outlook on N12's news channel. She said the rain was expected to stop gradually over the course of the day, that thunder and lightning were possible during the morning, and that temperatures would remain below the norm for the season. She said the night would be clear and relatively cold.

Looking further ahead, Ynet said no rain was expected the next day, but that it could return on Wednesday.

Why the coastal plain is singled out

The coastal plain is the low, flat strip running along Israel's Mediterranean shore. It holds most of the country's population, including the Tel Aviv area and the cities around it. Because the land is low and heavily paved, intense bursts of rain there can quickly overwhelm streets, underpasses and underground structures, which is why forecasters tend to single it out when flooding is a concern.

The northern Negev is the upper part of Israel's southern desert region. It receives far less rain than the north and centre, so forecasters note specifically when showers are expected to reach it.

Israel's rainy season falls in the cooler months, and the first significant storms of the season often bring a cluster of incidents like the ones reported here: fallen trees, flooded roads and car parks, and calls to emergency services.

How the reports compare

The two organisations broadly agree on the outlook. Both describe rain easing over the day, with Ynet saying it would taper off from the afternoon and Adler on N12 saying it would stop gradually. Ynet placed more emphasis on the flooding risk along the coast, while Adler focused on thunder and lightning in the morning and on the cold.

The account of the near miss at Tzur Moshe and the Ramat Gan rescue comes from Ynet alone. N12's report, as provided, deals only with the forecast.

What the reports do not say

None of the reports say whether anyone was injured in the storm, or give the outcome of the Ramat Gan car park rescue. They do not report rainfall totals, any official comment from the fire and rescue services, or whether roads were closed because of flooding.