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

[Mark]

South America Shivers

South America’s winter is starting to bite.

On June 17, Santa Catarina logged freezing lows in 16 cities, from the Meio-Oeste to the Planaltos, under a dry polar air mass. Bom Jardim da Serra fell to -6.7C (19.9F), the lowest temperature recorded in Brazil this year.

INMET warned that cold would persist across southern and southeastern Brazil, with frost risk in the southern highlands and in the Serra Gaucha, the Santa Catarina highlands and southern Parana.

Chile showed the same southern chill.

The country’s official DMC daily bulletin listed Balmaceda at -5.3C (22.5F), Coyhaique at -2.7C (27.1F), Puerto Williams at -2.3C (27.9F), and both Temuco and Puerto Montt at 0C (32F).

Farther south, Argentina and Patagonia add heavy snow to the mix. Forecasts and alerts point to snowfall across Santa Cruz and Tierra del Fuego, with parts of southwest Santa Cruz expecting 20 cm (8 in), and locally a lot more.

Updates to follow.
https://electroverse.substack.com/p/south-america-shivers-co2-cant-be

[Mark]

The Dirección Meteorológica de Chile issued alerts and advisories for a run of “heladas intensas” — intense frosts — as high pressure drove temperatures sharply lower across much of country.

In Los Lagos, the Cordillera Austral and Patagonia Subandina already neared -10C (14F) on July 1, with deeper subzero cold on the way. In Aysén, the numbers have been harsher still: as a low as -15C (5F) here.

DMC readings for July 1 show anomalous cold across the central/south: Balmaceda down to -14C (6.8F), Villa O’Higgins to -8.2C (17.2F), Mirador Marchant -7.4C (18.7F), Futaleufú -6C (21.2F), Puerto Aysén -5.7C (21.7F), and Puerto Montt’s El Tepual airport at -3.6C (25.5F).

The cold reached well north, too. Around the Santiago basin and central valleys, Curacaví fell to an unusual -4.7C (23.5F), Chorombo Hacienda -4.3C (24.3F), Talagante -3.1C (26.4F), El Paico -2.4C (27.7F), and Pudahuel Santiago -2.4C (27.7F).

Across the Andes, Argentina was also under extreme-cold alerts, with the SMN warning covering at least 18 provinces on July 2. Uruguay, likewise, opened the month with widespread frost risk and forecast lows well below freezing.

South America has started July with frost alerts and a continent-wide polar push.
https://electroverse.substack.com/p/chile-freezes-under-extreme-cold

[Mark]

Polar cold continues to impact South America.

In Chile, Chillán fell to an anomalous -5.4C (22.3F) over the weekend, by far its coldest reading of the year. The official DMC report blamed high pressure over the center-south, and noted frost and ice forming across the city.

Argentina also remains under Antarctic air. Buenos Aires recently dipped below freezing, reaching -0.2C (31.6F), with much of the country under cold-weather alerts. Local media billed the Buenos Aires freeze as “close to historic minima,” though OCBA records show colder readings in 1965 and also 2025. Mar del Plata, meanwhile, saw snow on July 2 for the first time in 35 years.

The blues and purples also spread north into Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia and southern Brazil...
https://electroverse.substack.com/p/japans-july-chill-south-america-shivers

[Mark]

A broad mass of polar air spread across Brazil’s South, Southeast and Center-West, reaching into southern Bahia.

The high country plunged to -11.5C (11.3F) on July 15 at the Campo Belo station in Parque Nacional do Itatiaia, but the cold reached well beyond the mountains.

Across the Southeast, Nova Friburgo dropped to 3.7C (38.7F)—about 6C below its average July minimum—and Campos do Jordão reached a similarly anomalous 2.1C (35.8F).

Farther east, Xerém fell to 11C (51.8F), and Rio de Janeiro’s Vila Militar reached 11.3C (52.3F)—some 4C below average.
https://electroverse.substack.com/p/polar-air-grips-brazil-could-greenlands

[Mark]

A major winter storm has buried the Andes of Chile and Argentina beneath extraordinary amounts of snow.

At Chile’s Portillo ski area, more than 4.5 m (15 ft) has fallen, with officials describing the duration and intensity of the storm as “highly unusual.” All road and air access remains closed, along with the resort itself, as the snow continues accumulating.

Border official Osvaldo Valle said “we are in the middle of a historic snowfall” after 4 m (13.1 ft) fell at Las Cuevas and more than 3 m (9.8 ft) at both Los Libertadores and Portillo. Forecasts are calling for 5 m (16.4 ft) before the storm is out. Valle said the event surpasses major previous winter episodes, including the deadly July 1984 storm.

On the Argentine side, officials report roughly 4 m (13.1 ft), with more than 2 m (6.6 ft) at Puente del Inca and up to 1 m (3.3 ft) at lower elevations. Snow became so deep near Los Penitentes, residents, tourists and workers were evacuated as food and heating supplies ran low. However, a rescue vehicle was forced to turn back after encountering 2-meter drifts blocking the route.
https://electroverse.substack.com/p/andes-under-164-feet-of-snow-as-temperatures

[Mark]

Heavy rainfall in Chile has killed at least 10 people and destroyed or severely damaged over 1,000 homes, officials said Monday, as the government declared a state of emergency.

Since last week, rain has lashed the typically arid northern regions of Coquimbo and Atacama, where such intense levels of precipitation are highly unusual.

At least 10 people have died, 17 have suffered injuries and four have been reported missing, Alicia Cebrian, director of Chile's SENAPRED national emergency service, told a press briefing Monday.

Over 1,100 homes have been destroyed or severely damaged due to the extreme weather, according to official figures.

The "increasingly serious" conditions prompted President Jose Antonio Kast to declare a state of emergency in the affected areas on Monday, he announced to the press.




The measure allows the government to deploy the military, restrict freedom of movement and quickly mobilize aid.

Rising rivers have blocked roads and isolated communities, while mud and power cuts have disrupted drinking water supplies in Coquimbo.

"What normally rains in a month fell in an hour" on Sunday, deputy interior minister Maximo Pavez told reporters, calling the rainfall "abnormal and extreme."

Chile has not witnessed this much rainfall in two decades, Arnaldo Zuniga of the national meteorological service told AFP.

"We haven't had a situation like this in quite a few years," he said
https://www.sott.net/article/507525-Chile-declares-state-of-emergency-over-deadly-rainfall

[Mark]

Chile’s Ski Portillo has been buried beneath 696 cm (22.8 feet) of snow this season.

A typical full winter delivers roughly 200 inches (508 cm). Portillo has already exceeded that by more than six feet—and the accumulation has become a logistical problem rather than a skiing windfall.

The two approaches to the resort remain blocked. The Chilean route from Santiago climbs through more than two dozen hairpin bends before reaching Portillo, while the connecting road from Mendoza, Argentina, is also shut.

The wider Los Libertadores border complex has accumulated 660 cm (21.7 feet) of snow and has remained closed since July 14. As of August 4, the 21-day shutdown was the crossing’s second-longest on record, behind only a 26-day closure in 2023.

Chile’s border authority says there is still no scheduled reopening date. Road crews must first clear the remaining section between Los Libertadores and the Cristo Redentor tunnel, where the depth and hardness of the snow continue to impede heavy machinery.

Veteran road worker Gregorio Cacciuttolo, who has been documenting the clearance effort, said he had never seen snow walls of this scale despite decades working in the Andes.
https://electroverse.substack.com/p/portillo-under-23-feet-of-snow-the