For the early part of this week, we'll be dealing with a warm storm in the southern part of the central zone and the southern zone. Snow levels will be high as this southerly storm track keeps the cold air south of the resorts, except for El Fraile. This storm will keep things damp Tuesday through Thursday. 

There shouldn't be much snow accumulation outside of the southern zone at La Hoya and El Fraile. El Fraile is far enough south that snow levels should lower, allowing for some accumulation Tuesday night.

The next system approaches Wednesday night and will bring active weather to the southern part of the continent by Thursday morning and to the southern forecast zone by Friday.

Precipitation from the storm will spread farther north on Friday night, getting into the northern part of the central zone, and then into the northern zone on Saturday. Right now, it looks like the northern half of the central zone and the southern part of the northern zone should do best, but we're still several days out. 

This would include resorts like Corralco, Antillanca, Pucon, Volcan Osorno, Nevados de Chillan, and Las Araucarias. The current track would bring decent totals to Nevados de Chillan, Valle Nevado, El Colorado, and La Parva. Although not as extreme as the last storm, totals should drop off farther north. 

Below is an early look at snow totals and locations. This storm has the potential to bring significant snow to the mid and upper elevations in the central zone, but there is considerable disagreement in the models. Let's hope the current forecast holds. 

The latest long-range models are more optimistic later next week and into the following week, with more chances for storms. Given the change from a few days ago, I don't have a lot of confidence in this timeframe at the moment. We'll have to keep an eye on it, but there is at least some potential for additional storms to build the snow depths across the region.  

My next post will be on Wednesday.

Thanks for reading the South America Daily Snow!

Luke Stone
Forecaster, OpenSnow

South America Forecast Zones

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.

View → Forecast Range Graphs