The Atacama desert in Chile is generally regarded as the ‘driest place on earth.’ Last week, however, to everyone’s surprise, parts of the desert were under deep snow.
People in the town of San Pedro de Atacama, about 750 miles from the capital, Santiago, were amazed by the spectacle.
¿Vieron el desierto de atacama con nieve? 😌 pic.twitter.com/jJMvf9Ad0f
— Sebastián (@sebaoteiza) August 25, 2021
Although it snows from time to time in the desert, snowfall this late in August is extremely rare.
The #Atacama Desert has been experiencing unusual amount of snow. The cold front that came through the region dumped nearly 32 inches of snow on the desert — more snow then the region has seen in the last half-century. Atacama #desert is known asone of the driest place on Earth pic.twitter.com/qmqJPnssxI
— Amazing Paper (@JohanesZijlstra) August 27, 2021
Images from the area showed ice-covered vehicles and children playing in the area in 15 cm (5.9 in) of snow, a region with only a few millimeters of rain each year.
— Cristina Dorador Ortiz (@criordor) August 25, 2021
It is thought to be the heaviest snowfall in three decades and has raised fears that melting ice and rainfall could cause flooding.
Some roads had to be closed for traffic as unusual weather made its presence felt.
Snow in the Atacama desert. It will likely experience some desert bloom in spring. https://t.co/VShZWrB4VW
— Francisco (@fcojara506) August 27, 2021
“This does not occur yearly. Maybe a relatively important snowfall like the one today can happen every two or three years. For this time of the year, late August, is something relatively unusual because this is usually seen in June and July,” said Daniel Diaz, an official of the Northern Regional Meteorological Center. [India Times]
After this unusual snow has melted, I think we will have an extreme desert flowering phenomenon…
This year #Atacama Desert has been experiencing unusual amount of snow. The cold front that came through the region dumped nearly 32 inches of snow on the desert — more snow then the region has seen in the last half-century. #ClimateReport https://t.co/H1ti1LDv1b
— Andreea Georgescu (@andreeaonline) August 28, 2021
Now subscribe to this blog to get more amazing news curated just for you right in your inbox on a daily basis (here an example of our new newsletter).
You should really subscribe to QFiles. You will get very interesting information about strange events around the world.