The weekend storm came up a bit short as far as snow totals go, but several resorts in the central and northern zones did end up with 15 - 30 cm. After some lighter precipitation to start the work week, the next major storm is underway and will batter the Andes through the rest of the week. 

Overall the forecast remains on track, so I will just review the major points for the next storm in this series.

We're once again in the warm sector as the latest storm lingers off the coast, but as the storm comes onshore today, a cold front will move south to north through the region. Snow levels will be falling from south to north during the day and should be below most base elevations by Wednesday night/Thursday morning. 

The northern zone will see the biggest snow totals during this round, followed by the northern part of the central zone. By Sunday, the higher elevation resorts in the central zone like Corralco should see .5 - 1 m of new snow. Totals will drop off sharply below 2000 m. 

Valle Nevado, Portillo, Las Lenas, and Nevados de Chillan are going to get hammered, especially at mid and upper elevations, with incredibly high snowfall rates on Thursday and Friday. With strong winds as well, road and terrain closures are likely. Snow totals of .5 - 1.5 m are expected by Sunday up high, with considerably less likely down low.

We should see snow taper to showers in the central zone and perhaps even get a lull in the north on Saturday and Sunday. 

The next low-pressure system moves on Sunday night, bringing heavy precipitation back to the Andes. A warm front will cause snow levels to climb a bit at the onset, but another cold front starts working its way through the region on Monday morning. This should lower snow levels below the base elevations of all resorts. This storm is taking a bit more of a southerly track, with the most snow likely in the central zone.

Snow should continue through Wednesday morning from this system. 

A brief break is possible from Wednesday afternoon to Thursday morning as the next storm approaches from the south. It looks like temperatures will rise slightly to start the storm and then cool down with snow levels similar to the previous event. This storm could last through Saturday, followed by a short break and another storm the following week. There is still no clear sign of a prolonged break in the action, and I'll fill you in on those details as we continue to move through this prolonged storm cycle.

Next update on Friday.

Thanks for reading the South America Daily Snow!

Luke Stone
Forecaster, OpenSnow

 

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