SnowBrains Forecast: Up to 2 Feet for South America’s Central Andes

This South America snow forecast keeps the ongoing Central Andes storm at center stage through Monday, with the Santiago-area mountains favored for the deepest refresh. Confidence is strongest from Saturday morning through Monday evening, when the individual forecasts broadly agree on the storm’s timing but retain meaningful spread in intensity. Patagonia sees lighter snow this weekend, followed by a windier midweek period, while another Central Andes wave is possible late next weekend. Portillo’s latest official report still shows lift-served terrain closed, so its accumulation is for the mountain rather than open runs.

The storm already underway across the Central Andes continues in pulses Saturday, eases Sunday, then reloads briefly Monday before ending Monday evening. The individual models converge on that overall timing and keep snow levels safely below resort bases, mostly 1,400-2,300 meters while snow falls, but they diverge on intensity and on exactly how low snow levels fall. Santiago-area snow should be moderate to fairly light at roughly 12-15:1 SLR, with Valle Nevado favored for 48-62 cm through Monday. Winds are one of the better-agreed variables, generally moderate with occasional gusts near 30-40 km/h, so upper-mountain interruptions are possible but not the dominant concern.

Farther south, the same weekend pattern brings a smaller, denser refresh before a dry start to the workweek. The individual forecasts converge on snow tapering by Sunday night and on breezy ridge conditions, but they diverge sharply on intensity around Nevados de Chillán and on the early snow-level peak. Snow levels near 1,500-1,900 meters Saturday should fall below 1,200 meters Sunday, favoring improving quality after initially dense 8-11:1 SLR snow. Through Monday, Nevados de Chillán expects 14-17 cm, Corralco 6-7 cm, Cerro Catedral 4-5 cm, and Chapelco 2-3 cm. Ridge gusts around 30-50 km/h may interrupt upper-mountain lift service during the pulse.

Tuesday through Friday turns mainly dry and gradually milder in the central Andes, while Cerro Castor becomes the focus for a colder, windier disturbance. Individual models diverge on its timing and amount but converge on snow levels near or below the base and potentially disruptive winds. A conservative expectation is 10-30 cm from Tuesday into Saturday, with snowfall dense to moderate. By Sunday and Monday, models diverge again on the track and intensity of another Andes wave. The most likely outcome is a modest 5-15 cm for the Santiago-area resorts, but one wetter outlier supports locally higher totals, so this remains a signal rather than a commitment.

South America Snow Forecast Resort Totals (Sat Aug 15 – Mon Aug 17)

• Valle Nevado – 48-62 cm
• El Colorado – 41-53 cm
• La Parva – 39-51 cm
• Portillo – 33-43 cm
• Las Leñas – 15-19 cm
• Nevados de Chillán – 14-17 cm
• Corralco – 6-7 cm
• Cerro Catedral – 4-5 cm
• Chapelco – 2-3 cm
• Cerro Castor – 0 cm