Weather in South America 2023 and up

[Mark]

June has begun with record-setting cold in Alaska, with Arctic air stalling the summer transition.

Deadhorse and Umiat, two interior Alaska Arctic stations, posted historically low maxes. Deadhorse logged 25F (-3.9C), tying its coldest June high on record. While Umiat reached only 27F (-2.8C), setting a new all-time record low high for the month.
https://electroverse.substack.com/p/summer-in-alaska-starts-with-record

[Mark]

An intense chill has swept Bolivia, plunging the capital La Paz to -8.5C (16.7F).

At over 3,600 meters (11,800 feet), La Paz is no stranger to chilly mornings — but this reading is considered exceptional for June.

It is is one of the coldest early-winter temperatures ever recorded in these parts, with such lows requiring a perfect storm: dry air, long nights, and intense radiational cooling — all of which aligned (in mid-June).

The freeze wasn’t isolated.

Cities and towns across the Andes —Bolivia, Peru, northern Chile and Argentina— dipped below zero. And as winter deepens across South America, even colder extremes are forecast: local meteorologists have called for decades-old records to fall.
https://electroverse.substack.com/p/bitter-cold-grips-bolivia-cme-peer

[Mark]

With temperatures hovering around 3C (37F), snow flakes were spotted drifting across the suburbs of Argentina's capital, Buenos Aires, on June 23 — a city where snow is practically unheard of.

The last significant snowfall in Buenos Aires occurred in July 2007 — itself the first in almost 90 years.

Forecast alerts had warned of possible snow, but few expected the forecast to materialize.
https://electroverse.substack.com/p/historic-snow-in-buenos-aires-rare

[Mark]

This week, the state of São Paulo, Brazil recorded some of their lowest temperatures in years — in some cases, breaking long-standing records.

The mountain town of Campos do Jordão dropped to 1.3C (34.3F). Chilly, but expected at altitude. What wasn’t expected was the sub-zero readings posted by heavily urbanized areas.

In São Paulo city, average temps hovered around 5C (41F), but across the city's southern districts, the mercury dipped to -0.7C (30.7F). It was the first time in over a decade that official readings in the capital dipped below freezing.

But the real outlier came from Corumbataí, a town 214 km inland, which registered a record-breaking -2.4C (27.7F) — Corumbataí has never posted a lower temperature in modern records (in the INMET archive dating from 1998).

Across southern Brazil, the numbers were even more extreme:

Urupema (SC): -8C (17.6F), coldest in Brazil, with feels-like of-13C (8.6F)

General Carneiro (PR): -7.8C (18F)

São Joaquim (SC): -6C (21.2F), nearing its all-time June record

Monte Verde (MG): -2.2C (28F)

Serafina Corrêa (RS): -3.6C (25.5F)

Lages (SC): -3.2C (26.2F)


Even urban areas weren’t spared. São Miguel Arcanjo (SP) hit 0C (32F), while Curitiba fell to -0.3C (30.5F).

Climatempo confirmed the wave brought an “abrupt and widespread temperature collapse” across much of Brazil.
https://electroverse.substack.com/p/sao-paulo-below-freezing-potosis

[Mark]

https://electroverse.substack.com/p/sao-paulo-below-freezing-potosis
This week, the state of São Paulo, Brazil recorded some of their lowest temperatures in years — in some cases, breaking long-standing records.

The mountain town of Campos do Jordão dropped to 1.3C (34.3F). Chilly, but expected at altitude. What wasn’t expected was the sub-zero readings posted by heavily urbanized areas.

In São Paulo city, average temps hovered around 5C (41F), but across the city's southern districts, the mercury dipped to -0.7C (30.7F). It was the first time in over a decade that official readings in the capital dipped below freezing.

But the real outlier came from Corumbataí, a town 214 km inland, which registered a record-breaking -2.4C (27.7F) — Corumbataí has never posted a lower temperature in modern records (in the INMET archive dating from 1998).

Across southern Brazil, the numbers were even more extreme:

Urupema (SC): -8C (17.6F), coldest in Brazil, with feels-like of-13C (8.6F)

General Carneiro (PR): -7.8C (18F)

São Joaquim (SC): -6C (21.2F), nearing its all-time June record

Monte Verde (MG): -2.2C (28F)

Serafina Corrêa (RS): -3.6C (25.5F)

Lages (SC): -3.2C (26.2F)


Even urban areas weren’t spared. São Miguel Arcanjo (SP) hit 0C (32F), while Curitiba fell to -0.3C (30.5F).

Climatempo confirmed the wave brought an “abrupt and widespread temperature collapse” across much of Brazil.

[Mark]

Another cold blast has disrupted life across South America, with Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Uruguay, Bolivia, and Paraguay all facing major travel shutdowns, agricultural damage, and public infrastructure strain.

By Tuesday (July 1), airports across Brazil—including São Paulo-Guarulhos, Rio/Galeão, Brasília, and Salvador—had delayed or canceled over 150 flights. Freezing rain, strong winds, and zero visibility grounded operations for LATAM, Azul, GOL, and Aerolíneas Argentinas. Argentina, Chile, and Peru are reporting similar aviation disruptions.

Over the weekend, temperatures plunged 10 to 20C below average across the south. On Sunday, Puerto Natales, Chile, logged -15.7C (3.7F)—a new monthly record, breaking the -12.9C (8.8F) from June, 2024, which itself broke a 1992 record of -12.8C (9F).
https://electroverse.substack.com/p/south-americas-cold-chaos-polar-blast

[Mark]

Faced with the coldest start to winter in more than tree decades, Argentina has slashed gas supplies to industry and shut a major border crossing with Chile as temperatures tank.

Amid the record-breaking cold, the government has cut off gas to industries and compressed natural gas (CNG) users to ensure enough supply for home heating.

Residential demand has surged due to the coldest start to winter in more than 30 years, and authorities are diverting resources to keep homes heated — even if it means shutting down parts of the economy.

Likewise in Chile, cold records are falling from from top to bottom.
https://electroverse.substack.com/p/argentina-cuts-gas-closes-border

[Mark]

Southern and Central South America are about to be hit by another Antarctic blast, with back-to-back waves on the way.

On Sept 5, much of Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, and southern Brazil will be in the grips of deep anomalies:



GFS 2m Temperature Anomalies Sept 5 [tropicaltidbits.com]

Then a week later, on Sept 12, initial GFS runs suggest a second, even harsher surge reinforcing the chill, sweeping north from Patagonia through the Pampas and into Brazil’s key agricultural belts:



GFS 2m Temperature Anomalies Sept 12 [tropicaltidbits.com]

For Brazil’s coffee heartlands, this is another ominous forecast. Arabica is notoriously fragile, surviving in only a narrow climatic band. Already stressed by erratic weather, namely persistent frosts since 2021, a fresh freeze could obliterate yields. Coffee has always been a “canary in the coal mine” crop: in 1975, a single frost wiped out two-thirds of Brazil’s crop, sending global prices soaring.
https://electroverse.substack.com/p/south-americas-incoming-freeze-record

[Mark]

A polar air mass is pushing north through Argentina, dropping snow into parts of Córdoba, San Luis and lower Mendoza before settling into a more damaging setup: widespread frost.

By Monday, May 18, the cold had spread across Argentina’s central belt. Meteored Argentina warned of strong frosts across Córdoba, Santa Fe, Entre Ríos and Buenos Aires, with rural northern Buenos Aires and parts of the Pampas facing several consecutive nights below 0C (32F).

Ruralnet, citing Argentina’s national weather service, placed the coldest stretch between Tuesday, May 19 and Thursday, May 21. Frost was expected across at least 15 provinces.

Already, Salta, Jujuy, Santiago del Estero, Chaco, Formosa, Corrientes and Misiones have all faced unusually cold mornings, with frost reaching far into the north. Reported lows included -8.5C (16.7F) at Chapelco, -8.4C (16.9F) at Maquinchao, -7.6C (18.3F) at Uspallata, and -7C (19.4F) at Esquel.

The same polar mass has advanced into Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia, and southern Brazil, where MetSul warned of several freezing mornings and widespread negative readings across Rio Grande do Sul.

Chile was also hit. The Dirección Meteorológica de Chile issued an early frost notice for Maule and Ñuble on May 18, with valley and coastal-cordillera areas forecast -3C (26.6F).

This is a broad early-season cold outbreak for South America, and it’ll run until at least May 24.
https://electroverse.substack.com/p/early-season-frosts-sweep-south-america