RAMALLAH, December 16, 2013 (WAFA) – A rise in temperature is expected for Monday with temperatures still below seasonal average, said the Palestine Weather Service.

Temperatures are from a maximum of 9 degrees Celsius during the day in most of the West Bank cities to low around zero degrees Celsius.

As a result of the low temperature at night, the Weather Service has warned of hazardous road conditions for cars and pedestrians urging people not to be on the roads during the night or early morning hours.

The country is still digging from under the heavy snow that fell on the central areas over the weekend that left power cuts in thousands of homes in the cities of Jerusalem, Ramallah, al-Bireh, Bethlehem, Hebron and Nablus and in their area towns and villages.

Power was resumed to many areas, but according to officials at the Jerusalem District Electricity Company, which supplies power to East Jerusalem’s Arab neighborhoods, Ramallah, al-Bireh, Bethlehem and Jericho, technicians are still working on returning power to several Ramallah area villages hardest hit by the snow storm.

The Palestinian government told staff to return to work on Monday after a forced closure due to weather conditions since Thursday. Schools, however, are still out.

In the Gaza Strip, where heavy rain and Israel’s opening of dams flooded most of the besieged Strip, people were still trying to drain water that flooded homes and roads.

Thousands of families who were evacuated from their homes are still living in temporary shelters such as schools even though the local authorities said studies will resume on Monday in Gaza schools.

Officials estimated initial damage in the West Bank at over $40 million and in Gaza at over $60 million. These figures are going to multiply when the final count is done, expect officials.

M.S.