Powerful Storms to Bring Rain to Santiago, Central Chile This Week

By Courtney Spamer, Meteorologist

August 2,2015; 9:50PM,EDT

 

 

After months of below-normal rainfall, Santiago, Chile, could finally be looking at some beneficial rain for the middle of next week.
With months of drier-than-normal conditions, the shower or two Thursday evening and Sunday morning has done little to make up the rainfall deficit.
Meanwhile, Santiago will await a pair of storm systems that will move in this week that could finally help make up some of the rain deficit.

These low pressure systems will approach the central Chilean coast, bringing a lot of rain with them.
"It's still too early to see how potent the incoming system will be," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Rob Miller said. "Early indications suggest that as much as 25 mm (1 inch) of rain could be heading for central Chile, including Santiago." Even greater rainfall is likely to the south of Santiago though if the storms track further north Santiago could receive these higher amounts.
This amount would be just enough to help, but there could still be some localized flooding if heavier downpours accompany the system.
One place that will again do well with this storm is the Andes.
The mountains between Santiago and Puerto Montt will receive copious amounts of moisture from these systems. Several inches of moisture will lead to a meter (3 feet) or more of snow in the highest terrain.
Following the final push of rain into Chile for the end of next week, the stormy weather will set it sights on central Argentina, then eventually streaming towards Mar Del Plata and the Atlantic Ocean for the weekend.
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Santiago will likely settle back into a dry pattern following next week's rain. Looking back, that has been the trend across the region for the past several winters.
"Santiago hasn't had above-normal yearly rainfall since 2002," Miller said. "Some years were near normal, but Santiago has continued to see rainfall well below average since 2006 ."
The extended dry weather has prompted some regions of Chile to contemplate water rationing, according to La Tercera. Executives stated that the rationing would depend on how the weather continues over the next month or so, but that some sort of conservation is likely.
Meteorologist Eric Leister contributed to this story.