Polar Cold Snap Arrives To Chile and Argentina

The polar cold wave is affecting Santiago de Chile, where temperatures fell to 8.5 degrees Celsius yesterday, the lowest level registered this year. The low temperature was recorded at 04:00 local yesterday in Lampa District, northwest of Santiago, while the thermometer marked near zero degrees in the capital, as a consequence many beggers have perished.

This temperature change is the result of  “the pass of a polar origin mass,” which is accompanied by “a mass of dry air, which causes a loss of energy from the sun during the night,” said meteorologist Luis Salazar.

The freezing temperatures were also felt in Argentina, in the middle of Copa America 2011, causing unusual snowfalls in several cities on the Atlantic coast (Mar del Plata and Miramar) in the province of Buenos Aires, the National Weather Service (NWS) reported yesterday. In central Mendoza province (west), the cold registered in 14 degrees below zero and will continue until Wednesday.

Meanwhile, provinces of Catamarca, Jujuy, La Rioja, Salta, and San Juan in the northwest, received a warning by the MTF; it is expected that a mass of cold air with snow and winds gusts up to 140 kilometers per hour, past the foothills area.The National Weather Service issued an orange alert (significant risk) for Uruguay because of  the cold snap. (MS)
Source: AFP