The storm of the season is poised to hit Argentina this week, dumping 5+ feet on local resorts! The highest totals will be found in the central Andes, especially on the western slopes. The region is coming off a spectacular storm last week, which dropped over a foot of perfect, champagne fluff at several resorts.
(Chris Davenport Twitter, 8/7/22)
https://www.instagram.com/p/ChCoC5fA9ON/ (8/9/22)
The initial surge of precipitation will begin on Thursday evening and continue through Friday afternoon. Most of the moisture should leave the Bariloche region to the north by around 3pm, although lighter precipitation will linger until the next wave arrives early morning on Saturday. By the end of this first wave, snow totals will be fairly small but will make for good skiing conditions. Likely 5-10” at most resorts. There is fairly good model agreement on the first wave. The American model (right) has the precipitation bullseye stretching a bit further north, but generally speaking, the highest values will be located just south of Bariloche:
The second wave will be much more significant. The moisture moves in on Saturday morning and hammers the mountains with snow until things taper off on Sunday morning. Snow rates during this storm will likely exceed 2” per hour at points, meaning free refills all day! Here are some possible totals I can see shaping up after the second wave on Sunday morning:
- Cerro Catedral: 35-40”
- Chapelco: 25-30”
- Cerro Bayo: 35-45”
Temperatures during this storm will be fairly average, and most resorts should see average snow-liquid-ratios between 10 and 12:1. Not particularly light snow, but still great ski conditions.
A third, smaller wave kicks off an extended period of fairly consistent, light precipitation through Monday morning, where another storm is shaping up to deliver even MORE snow! (Stay tuned for an updated forecast for that system soon!). By Monday morning, here are some snow forecasts:
- Cerro Catedral: 45-55”
- Chapelco: 30-40”
- Cerro Bayo: 50-60”
All pink, love to see it! Good model agreement that this is shaping up to be the deepest storm of the season so far…
Shaping up to be QUITE the weekend in Argentina. Best of luck to those chasing this system, it’s going to be a good one!
