Dry Spell in Santiago Continues; Rain Potential for Next Week

By Courtney Spamer, Meteorologist

July 31,2015; 10:42PM,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 was not enough to make up the rainfall deficit. Furthermore, another dry spell has set in for Santiago that will last through early next week.
An area of low pressure approaching southern Chile this weekend will keep the beneficial rain off to the south of the valley that the city of Santiago is nestled in. However, enough moisture will be present in the Andes for the ski resorts to get and make snow.
Meanwhile, Santiago will await a storm system moving in next week that could finally help make up some of the rain deficit.

A pair of 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."
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 ski resorts in the mountains, however, will likely do much better; the highest elevations could see over 60 cm (2 feet)," Miller added.
Following the final push of rain into Chile for the end of next week, the system 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 the unusually dry pattern following next week's rain. Looking back, that has been the trend across the region.
"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.