Despite dour summer predictions by Israeli weather experts that Israel would suffer a sixth year of insufficient rainfall and an ecological disaster at the Sea of Galilee, officials are now announcing that the water level in the Kinneret would rise above the lower red line for the first time in two years, easing restrictions on pumping from Israel’s largest natural freshwater source.

A particularly rainy winter has raised the level of the Kinneret by nearly 4.9 feet—a relief given that it dropped by 4.1 feet during the summer of 2018, leaving the critical water source just 7.5 inches from the black line, below which the Kinneret would become impotable.

Water Authority officials reported that the waterline is expected to rise above the lower red line by the beginning of March, and noted that this year’s heavy snowfall on the Hermon is also expected to raise the water level by dozens of centimeters.

The Kinneret waterline decreases between 0.5 centimeters and 1 centimeter daily during the summer due to water evaporation.