Andes Mountains Clobbered by Massive Snow Storm

All Images: Jack Price

The Andes Mountains are engulfed in a major storm, with Valle Nevado sitting in the heart of the action. The famous Chilean ski area has received over 43" of snow in the last five days, with 32" falling in the last 24 hours as of 9 AM MST August 22, according to Open Snow.

"It was a wild Wednesday night, and it got even more hectic on Thursday as winds picked up," said Open Snow meteorologist Luke Stone. "The second phase of the storm began on Thursday night as the cold front moved across the Andes with more heavy snow. The storm should linger through Friday afternoon before tapering off overnight."

Our friends from the Montana-based Entourage crew are boots on the ground and were some of the lucky individuals who woke up to multiple feet of snow blanketing the parking lot. While much of the resort skiing remains closed, there are always other opportunities. "Backcountry conditions are dicey, so we're looking to hit a street spot and wait for the chance to head into the mountains," said filmer Jack Price.

If you parked your car at Valle Nevado, good luck finding that sucker.

It's been a rather dry month for most of the Andes, though August into September is usually when the faucet turns on in South America. Other areas in need of snow were hit hard during this storm as well, including Argentina's Ski Portillo and Las Leñas ski areas, which each have recorded 32" and 24" in the last five days, respectively.

This will be the last cold storm in the short-term forecast, as winds from the Arctic are replaced with warmer, wet storms shepherded by winds from the northwest. Temperatures should climb on Sunday, 8/24, and stay there until Thursday, 8/ 29. Unfortunately, snow levels are expected to move above most resort base elevations.

"The models are picking up on a weak storm around the 28th to the 30th; however, right now it looks like mainly light rain/snow," continued Stone in his predictions. "There are some signs of more storms starting in September, but it's a bit too early to speculate on details."

We'll keep you updated on more storms moving into South America, as hopefully one more big cold spell is possible this winter! And it won't be long until we're reporting on the first snowstorm in North America, either.