A surprise summer shower hit parts of northern Israel on Sunday morning, meteorological services said.
Heavy rainfall lasting only 15 minutes, washed over the Hula Valley, one of the most important birdwatching sites in the world.
Rainfall at Hula Valley
(Video: Dodo Finian, Einbar Rubin Agmon Hula KKL-JNF, Ofra Pesder, Dana Moran-Ravid, Upper Galilee Youth Center)
Ofra, who was hiking in the Hula Lake Park, said that “suddenly, in the middle of August, raindrops started falling once I finished walking the trail. The drops turned into heavy rain and we ended up completely drenched.”
Israel Meteorological Services said that rainfall during summer occurs often in the area, and while the August rain is surprising, it is not necessarily unusual.
Located in the Galilee, hundreds of thousands of visitors are drawn to the Hula Valley Crane Lookout to observe white cranes on their way to southern Africa, stopping one last time before they begin the flight over the Sahara Desert.
Tourists who visit the park can bike through the park on cycling routes or view the birds on a camouflaged tractor that pulls right up to the feeding sites.
An educational center offers videos and information about the history of the Hula Valley and the kind of wildlife that inhabit it.