The Atacama Desert Experiences Heavy Snowfall

[Springer9]

Source: Irish Weather Online

One of the driest spots on earth has experienced its heaviest snowfall in almost two decades, according to the Chilean Directorate of Meteorology (DMC).
A cold front brought up to 80 centimetres (31.5 inches) of snow to the Atacama desert region of South America forcing emergency services to close local roads and rescue dozens of motorists from their vehicles. The temperature in the Chilean capital, Santiago, dropped below minus 8c on Wednesday. Neighbouring Argentina and Uruguay are also experiencing subzero temperatures.
Located in the north of Chile, the Atacama Desert records less than 50mm of rain on average each year. Some weather stations in the region record only 1-3mm of rain each year. The desert is, according to NASA, National Geographic and many other publications, the driest desert in the world, due to the rain shadow on the leeward side of the Chilean Coast Range, as well as a coastal inversion layer created by the cold offshore Humboldt Current.
According to the website explore-atacama.com, the current wintry conditions are unusual in the region: “In winter (June, July and August) the average daytime temperature is 22°C (72°F) and by night 4°C (39°F), descending to -2°C (28°F) in extreme cases. During summer (January, February and March) the temperature fluctuates between 27°C (81°F) and a minimum of 16°C (61°F) at night, reaching maximums of 32°C (90°F)”.



Read more: http://www.irishweatheronline.com/news/climate-news/the-atacama-desert-experiences-heavy-snowfall/25330.html

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Looks like they could use the moisture. I can imagine they'll get a real burst of wild flowers and plant life when it all melts.

[nenagh]

1. Thank you.. Springer9....

What a photograph...

[stevedeshazer]

2. Good.

[Tikki]

3. I would love to be there...

this coming Spring time....

The place is amazing anytime...



Tikki

[SkyDaddy7]

5. Have you seen video of...

someone out there who pours a little water on these black patches & they start to turn green...It is like they are dormant & water almost instantly brings them to life.

I would love to experience that place!

[ClarkUSA]

4. I read about this earlier. Thanks for the photo. What lucky explorers.

[No Elephants]

6. Well, that explains Democrats' proposing cuts to Medicare, OASDI and fuel subsidies.

If it's snowing in the desert, hell must be frozen over.

[robcon]

7. The Atacama, despite being so dry, is an agricultural area.

The snowmelt from the Andes creates rivers and tributaries that have been used for irrigation for decades.

[CreekDog]

8. why would they need the moisture?

it's normally a practically rainless desert.

it looks the way it looks because of that.

rain does not help things where the ecosystem doesn't expect it, nor where nothing is built for it.

i find it kind funny that people think getting rain/snow somehow helps a desert --pretty, yes, interesting, yes, of course --help? why would it?

why would nature need this type of help?

[miyazaki]

9. Are you under the impression that deserts are lifeless voids?

C'mon now.

[CreekDog]

11. would love to see where i said that --as a desert rat myself, deserts are amazing

but the idea that a place adapted to little or no rain needs more...ask nature.

and again, i want to see you find a quote from me where i said that deserts are lifeless voids.

[hatrack]

15. Cliches like "surreal beauty" don't even come close - the Atacama's lovely

http://www.atacamaphoto.com/sitemap1.htm

Never been, but it's on my bucket list.

[AverageJoe90]

17. Simply amazing.........

What else can I say? Nature can be quite beautiful. Let's not mess it up!

[plumbob]

10. Moisture is not part of nature?

That's how I read this.

[CreekDog]

12. a 30 inch snowfall is not necessarily good news in a place that usually gets no rain at all

is that too hard to grasp?

:banghead:

[sudopod]

13. But...it has electrolytes.

It's got what plants crave!

[plumbob]

16. No, not at all hard. What's evident is that you've never lived in the desert.

I even tried living on the Gulf Coast once. Rain, green vegetation, creeks, rivers, lotsa trees, bugs, water snakes, chiggers, algae, fungus, creepy crawly stuff, a real green hell!

So I got my butt back out to God's country.

Come out sometime. The Marfa lights alone are worth the trip!

[CreekDog]

18. What on earth are you talking about?

I've lived in two deserts and I love the desert so much that I used to spend as much time outside in it as I could when I was younger.

I even looked for desert writers so I could read about the desert when I wasn't in one.

I took grad school classes from a guy who studied the middle east.

What are you talking about? And what makes you think you KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT ME?

:eyes:

[plumbob]

20. If you are writing your honest feelings, I and everyone else with critical

thinking skills know something about you. And me. And anyone else who writes.

I have no idea what your purpose is in posting these hostile posts, but it's evidently nonproductive, so I will wish you a pleasant rest of your life.

[CreekDog]

19. Moisture is, of course --not 30 inch snowfalls

in many places a 30 inch snowfall, where rain or snow is a rarity --would cause a lot of destruction, natural and otherwise.

[rabs]

14. The flowers of the Atacama

This is what it will look like when it warms up, but for only a brief few days.

?







Reading Chilean media, the airport at Antofagasta, a major northern Atacama city, was closed today because of rain -- the city was expected to get between 10mm and 15mm of rain.

It is probably the only airport in the world that closes due to a half-inch "downpour." That amount is usually the average of what the city gets in six years.

Half a liftime ago, I crossed the Atacama from north (Peru/Chile border) all the way to Santiago by bus. By day, incredibly desolate. By night, freezing, even on the bus.

When NASA was planning the Rover mission to Mars, the Atacama was the testing ground for the Nomad robot.