A powerful winter storm will slam Chile late this week. Widespread heavy rainwill spread across Chile's Lake District and Central Valley Thursday night andFriday. Rainfall will continue into the weekend.Three to six inches of rain are expected at lower elevations. But, thefoothills of the Andes Mountains could get closer to 10 inches of rain. Thestorm will also bring very strong winds. Gusts in excess of 60 mph can beexpected.
Rainfall will be heavy enough to trigger some flooding and perhaps evenmudslides.
Just inland from the coast, the Andes Mountains rise over 20,000 feet above sealevel. The Chilean Andes are lined with ski slopes. This storm will easilybring several feet of snowfall to the resorts. The snow could be so heavy,travel to the resorts will be impossible for a time.
Even the capital city of Santiago will have heavy rainfall. Up to 3 inches ofrain are expected in the city of 5 million. Santiago averages just under 15inches of rainfall for the entire year. Areas of south of Santiago, like thepicturesque Lake District, average upwards of 60 inches of rainfall.
The climate of Chile is very similar to the West Coast of the United States.
Virtually no rain falls during the summer months; however, storms frequent thewinter months.
Story by AccuWeather.com Meteorologist Dave Samuhel
