The northern zone will see one more resort open this week, as Portillo starts spinning lifts on Saturday with solid conditions. Some more snow is expected on Saturday night, so their opening weekend should be really good. 

Some snow and rain showers are possible in the southern part of the central zone on Friday, but the next significant storm is expected to arrive late on Friday night. An upper-level low will take a southerly track across the continent, bringing another round of accumulating snow. 

As the storm moves inland, it will begin tracking farther north, allowing for some snow in the northern zone in addition to the central and southern zones. Snow will overspread the Andes from south to north on Friday night, reaching the northern zone Saturday evening. 

This is not an overly cold storm, but snow levels should remain below base elevations, and the central zone should see the biggest totals through Sunday. Below is the latest snow forecast from the European model through Sunday, when it should wrap up. Generally, 20 to 40 cm is expected in the central zone from this storm, with 8 to 20 cm in the north. 

A brief round of rain and snow showers is possible on Sunday, before the main storm activity arrives on Monday or Tuesday. The models are not in lock step regarding all the details of this storm just yet, but here's what it looks like at the moment. This system looks stronger and considerably colder overall, with the potential of putting down some really high-quality snow. 

Snow may continue into Thursday evening, with totals potentially surpassing 60 cm in the central zone and 45 cm in the north. Below is an early look at snow totals for this system, but confidence remains low at this time. Hopefully the models will come into better agreement over the next few days. 

Some models show another storm moving into the region the following weekend, but it's too early for details. Not all the models are picking up on it, though. I'll have more details in the next post on Monday.

Thanks for reading the South America Daily Snow!

Luke Stone
Forecaster, OpenSnow

NEW: Forecast Range Graphs

You can now view individual forecasts from global and regional high-resolution weather models in OpenSnow. This includes forecasts from the GFS, ECMWF, HRRR, and ICON models, as well as the OpenSnow blend.

The graphs give you a behind-the-scenes look at the forecast and make it easier to see if the forecast models are in tight agreement or if there is a wide range of potential outcomes over the next 10 days.

Note: This is currently only available in the OpenSnow iOS app and website (OpenSnow.com). Android will be available soon.

Getting Started

1. Go to any location screen.
2. Scroll down under "Weather" or "Snow Summary".
3. Tap "View Interactive Chart" in the app.
4. Adjust the model, timeframe, or data view.

Why is the Forecast Range helpful?

Understand if there is high or low confidence in the forecast. If all models show a similar forecast, there is higher confidence in the forecast, and vice versa.

Dig into the details. If you have experience looking at weather model data and trust certain models or higher-resolution models, you'll be able to isolate your favorite data.

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