With the first major storm of the season already over, Israel is now preparing for the winter ahead. It won’t be a long one — it won’t even be a particularly cold one, contrary to what Israelis tend to think — but it will be full of atmosphere.

Torrential rainstorms, foggy nights, wind and hail, even snow – Israel may be in the Middle East, but during the short winter months it gets its fair share of bad weather.

Sit back and relax beside the fire, and enjoy our selection of winter photographs from all over Israel.

And for more fun ideas of things to do in winter in Israel, why not check out our articles:

22 things to do in Israel when it’s cold and wet
20 top things to do during the winter in Israel 

Storm coming. Clouds begin to brew over the Mediterranean Sea near Netanya as a January storm approaches. Photo by Anat Hermony/FLASH90

People walk with umbrellas through the streets of Israel’s northern city of Tzfat during a January rainstorm. Photo by David Cohen/FLASH90

As rain begins to fall more steadily throughout Israel, the rivers and streams begin to swell. A waterfall in Yehudiya Forest Nature Reserve in the Golan Heights last January. Photo by Maor Kinsbursky/FLASH90

A view of fog over Ein Karem and the Jerusalem mountains early in the morning this November. Photo by Yaakov Lederman/FLASH90

Watch where you’re going! A man gets caught out by heavy waves flooding Jaffa Port in Tel Aviv during a ferocious storm last January. Photo by Yaakov Lederman/FLASH90

Even the desert gets rain. Israelis come down to watch the floods in Nahal Og, a stream that runs from Jerusalem to the Dead Sea. Photo by Maxim Dinshtein/FLASH90

Lightning illuminates the sky over the Samarian Mountains. Photo by Hillel Maeir/FLASH90

A group of Asian tourists with matching umbrellas visit the Western Wall during a February storm. Photo by Hadas Parush/FLASH90

Water floods the area after heavy rainfall in the southern Israeli city of Eilat last January, on one of the stormiest days of the winter. Photo by Yehuda Ben Itah/FLASH90