Because, once again, Jerusalem is slated to get some. The storm, which wreaked havoc in Greece, is barreling in on the Israeli coast where it's expected to drop a moderate amount of snow while causing temperatures to plunge.

Two major snowfalls in one season, and especially so close together, is of course incredibly rare here in our modest metropolis on the fringe of the desert. It's possible that such freakish weather could be the result of mere chance and caprice, but Israel is the kind of place where meteorological phenomena are just as often interpreted as the will of a vengeful god or two, so Jerusalemite has to assume that higher powers are at work - and that they are displeased. Probably about that whole "no more real sushi" thing.  

Sure, the snow, even when it comes, doesn't deign to stick around long here in the Levant, but even if you can't tramp out with snowboots to sled down Mount Zion and build a snow golem, you can still toast our departed snowfall with some good times in the city this coming weekend (after Shabbat is over) - especially since it's going to be relatively warm. (Highs up to 60F!)

How does one celebrate snow in Jerusalem? Appropriately snow-colored food, of course. Given that winter chill, anything frozen is out...but Jerusalemite has some ideas of foods that will keep you warm yet in a festive winter mood.

Start out with a hot milk-and-honey drink at Tmol Shilshom. Remember as you drink it that once upon a time a whole nation of people crossed one of the world's most inhospitable deserts to get a taste of that business.

Then head to the first bakery or coffee shop you come across - Jerusalemite recommends the little shop Turkish Bourekas from Haifa on Jaffa Road - and get a bourekas filled with salty white cheese, topped with alabaster tehina and a pristine hard-boiled egg.

And dessert? Why not a fresh crepe at Katzefet on the Ben Yehuda midrachov?

And then walk all those calories off while watching the remaining bits of snow disappear from Independence Park. Have fun! 

Snow falls in only parts of Israel, but when it snows in the hilly north -- usually between zero and three times per winter -- it's likely to snow in Jerusalem as well. Rare is a multi-day, multi-centimeter snowstorm like the one that blanketed our city in white this week.

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Unless you're a recluse, you may have noticed that a bizarre frosty white precipitate has coated the ground. They tell Jerusalemite it's called "snow." Jerusalemite privately thinks that this whole frozen water from the sky is somewhat of a betrayal of the promise of clement Mediterranean weather - there are palm trees here, for hummus' sake - but even if we're cold, and inundated with hordes of Tel Avivians, their eyes alight with the wonder at our bizarre weather, there is a silver lining on those snow clouds.

Yes, believe it or not, the municipality actually acknowledged this year, for what has to be the first time, that it sometimes snows in Jerusalem, and made some preparations to that effect. Gasp. Jerusalemite knows. Not only has the city loosed 100 plows to keep major roads clear, but emergency services have been mobilized and equipped to deal with the inevitable traffic accidents. And it's a good thing, too - 20 cm of snow are expected before the storm is through on Thursday.

If you're in the city, you may wish to take the municipality's advice to heart and not drive. Go on a walk and experience the rare wonder of a Middle Eastern city blanketed in snow, and try not to scoff too hard at all those Tel Avivians. 

In case you haven't noticed, it's cold in Jerusalem. And while Jerusalem residents won't acknowledge the annual three-month spell of cold weather by using insulation in buildings or installing heating units as a standard amenity (to do so would be to admit defeat, or something), they do trot out plenty of winter-appropriate comfort food to beat the chill. So if you're trapped outside for any length of time, here's your Jerusalemite-approved guide to getting your blood flowing again...

1) Get the sahlab at Mifgash Ha-Sheikh. Sahlab, a Middle Eastern delicacy made out of a powdered, and obscure, Egyptian root, is a sort of hot pudding, although its flavor and consistency are totally unique. Mifgash Ha-Sheikh is famous for sahlab, and you'll get a generous cupful garnished with nuts, coconut flakes and abundant cinnamon.

2) If sahlab is a little too adventurous for your palate, head a few meters down the street from the Shammai branch of Mifgash Ha-Sheikh to Babette's Feast, a hole-in-the-wall Belgian waffle joint that's often crammed full enough to have a line. The waffles are luxurious, but those looking to fortify themselves against frosty weather should get the hot chocolate. This ain't your average Swiss Miss - Babette's hot chocolate is the real chocolately syrupy rib-sticking deal.

3) Nothing beats a cold and rainy day like soup - head down to Ha-Marakiyah, Jerusalem's funkiest all-soup indie restaurant. If you can get a table, the sweet potato soup (marak batata) should banish any hint of the frigid temperatures outside.

And remember, spring isn't too far off...

It's been raining in Jerusalem late. Quelle surprise.

Winter and its accompanying deluges can be rough on anyone, but as anyone who's ever been around children knows, something about being cooped up inside by inclement weather brings out little people's most riotous impulses. Nothing augments gloomy weather outside like a furious ball of sugar-fueled destruction inside.

So what to do with the little darlings? Make the most out of the situation: find an indoor activity, outside the house, and maybe even make it educational. That's right. Take 'em to the Bloomfield Science Museum. The kid-friendly museum is chock full of the sort of weird science displays that the younger set gravitate to. And there's even a gift shop. Check the current schedule of events and exhibits at the museum's website, www.mada.org.il/english.

Mayhaps Jerusalemite complained too soon.

Or maybe the good Lord, after inflicting several days of chills on his Holy City, decided to give the residents a Shabbat reprieve - the forecast for Saturday calls for a downright springlike 60 degrees, with sun and calm winds. Who could ask for better weather than that in the dead of winter?

With that rare bit of clement weather in midwinter Jerusalem in mind, why not take go on a nice constitutional? Just pick a direction and go, taking in the still of Shabbat as you walk along. And don't forget to appreciate the sunshine before the capricious fates yank it away again.

Shabbat shalom, or a happy weekend, from Jerusalemite. 

The last couple of days have been more or less seasonal for a Jerusalem winter - those three interminable months of harsh wind, driving rain, gray skies and empty streets - but man, was it cold earlier this week. A few days at or below freezing in a row, and everything starts to go to Hell. Like, for example, everyone's dvadei shemesh, the solar-powered water heaters on every rooftop in Jerusalem. It turns out that a few days of cold isn't accounted for in the design:

Hundreds of Jerusalem residents found themselves with no hot water or with water flowing through their apartments after the solar panels on their roofs froze over, a city plumber said Tuesday.

The temperature in Jerusalem dipped to freezing for the third consecutive night Monday, although meteorologists forecast that the mercury would rise starting Wednesday.

Plumber Yonah Mishaan, who received some 40 emergency calls on Tuesday alone, said there was a run on hardware stores for the NIS 10-20 copper caps for the heaters due to the unusually cold weather.

He added that the problem stemmed from the pressure getting too high and causing leaks.

"This happens once in a blue moon," Mishaan said. "It has really been a crazy few days."

In the meantime, he urged residents to leave a faucet dripping in order to avoid such an occurrence.

Nothing like being in a cold apartment with no hot water. Local shortsightedness when it comes to winter is an odd thing; it gets below freezing every winter, and it snows almost every winter, but somehow it's always a surprise - and somehow, many apartments still don't have heat installed. And as far as anyone thinking to put insulation in all that cold Jerusalem stone, forget it.

Jerusalemite thinks we should stop pretending we have a perfect Mediterranean climate all year round. And Jerusalemite also hopes your shower is suitably hot. Stay warm! 

It seems like fall might be creeping up on our fair city on seven hills with a little more alacrity than usual.

October is supposed to be the best month for weather in Jerusalem, the brief window of time opened with the retreat of summer's maddening and ceaseless heat and closed by the rains, rolling in from the sea bearing a promise of three or four miserably wet months spent slipping and sliding around on the smooth, rain-slicked flagstone of Ben Yehuda. October is the month for sitting on the mirpeset (balcony) wrapped in the clouds of smoke pouring from a bubbling nargilah and sipping from a hot cup of mint tea, caressed by invigoratingly cool night breezes. October is the month when all the kids finally go to school, meaning the city is a little quieter and emptier during the day, perfect for making the most out of all the parks.

But it seems fall is fixing to spoil a perfectly good time.

Jerusalemite is no professional weatherman, of course, and its predictions are no more reliable than anyone else's, but the nightly temperature has been dipping into the low teens (Celsius-wise), and the forecast claims that later in the week we'll be dipping down below 11, which is 50 degrees Farenheit.

That's American fall weather! Nobody lives in the Middle East because they want 50 degree days in October!

Jerusalemite can only offer this advice: there's not much you can do to slow the inexorable march of the seasons, but you can thumb fall's rainy nose a little by making the most of what warmth we have left. Get out there and soak up the sun before it's too late. Join in a kaduregel game in the park. Have a picnic. People-watch from a sidewalk table on Hillel Street. And when the rains and the cold start in earnest, you can bet that Jerusalemite will have some indoor ideas for having a good time. So stay tuned.

Whew. Holidays over. September is, like a Woody Allen movie or a Phillip Roth novel, "too Jewish." A Jerusalem visitor could probably hear the city-wide sigh of relief as the sun sets on Simchat Torah, the month's last holiday.

Anyway! The holidays may be over, but the fun most certainly ain't. October is one of the loveliest months to be in Jerusalem - the often oppressive heat of summer has subsided, and the frigid and unrelenting rains of December and January are just far enough away in the future that the pall of their impending arrival doesn't hang over the city. So with this whole month of lovely days spread out before you, Jerusalemite highly recommends that you go out and have a little fun.

Accommodating you, as "always," is the Jerusalem Municipality, which has a full slate of upcoming events: among them an architectural extravaganza called "Inside Housing." From the Municipality's website: 

Throughout the event, 100 unique houses and public structures will be open to the public without charge.
Among these buildings will be synagogues, monasteries and special gardens, government and public buildings.

The event will be sponsored by the Jerusalem Municipality and many Israeli construction companies as well as several associations.

The program will include special free activities for children.

Jerusalemite is all for it. Our city may not have the reputation of a Paris or a Prague for inspiring architecture, but we've been around longer than those upstart punk settlements, and Jerusalem is full of lovely building if you know where to look (i.e., away from those monstrously modern landscape warts they call "apartments"). So seize this rare opportunity to see the inside of some of Jerusalem's greatest buildings - and try walking there, too.