This South America snow forecast is focused on a dense, uneven Andes storm through Saturday night, followed by a colder but less certain midweek signal. The best near-term snow favors Cerro Catedral and Las Leñas, while the Santiago-area resorts see more upper-mountain-focused accumulation and Corralco stays mostly dry until the later pattern. Early-season operations are uneven, with several mountains on limited terrain, Chapelco still pre-opening until Wednesday, and Las Leñas announcing a Saturday start, so some of this week’s snow is still base-building rather than immediate lift-served refresh.
From Monday night through Thursday, the first wave favors Patagonia before spreading north and central later in the week. The individual models converge on the broader Wednesday-through-Friday storm timing, but they diverge on placement and intensity, with Patagonia showing the strongest early signal and the Santiago-area high terrain waiting for Friday. Snow levels during snow are lowest at Cerro Castor, generally near sea level to 600 meters, then closer to 1,000-1,600 meters around Catedral and Chapelco, and around 2,600-2,900 meters for the Santiago resorts. SLRs mostly run 3-11:1, so expect dense to wet snow, with fairer quality in colder Patagonia pockets.
Confidence is highest from Monday, July 6 through Saturday night, July 11, and that is the period used for the resort totals below. The models are converging on a Friday peak from Las Leñas north toward Portillo, Valle Nevado, La Parva, and El Colorado, but the amount spread remains meaningful, from a lighter event in drier solutions to a solid upper-mountain storm in wetter ones. Las Leñas’ announced Saturday opening means most of its 25-41 cm is setup snow before lift-served turns begin, while Chapelco’s snow arrives as it moves toward its Wednesday opening. Wind guidance is less aligned, but Patagonia and south Chile have the clearest gust risk, with exposed terrain periodically rougher than the Santiago-area resorts.
From Sunday through Thursday, July 12-16, the pattern turns more speculative as the individual models diverge sharply on timing, intensity, snow levels, and wind. A colder second system is plausible, especially for south-central Chile and Patagonia, but the wetter solutions are much more aggressive than the drier ones. A conservative read supports roughly 15-30 cm for favored central and southern mountains, with local totals around 40 cm possible if the wetter outcome verifies. Snow levels look lower than the first storm, often near 1,300-2,100 meters in central and southern Chile and near or below Patagonia bases at times, so snow quality should improve where precipitation overlaps the colder air.
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South America Snow Forecast Resort Totals (Mon Jul 06 – Sat Jul 11)
- Cerro Catedral – 29-44 cm
- Las Leñas – 25-41 cm
- Portillo – 13-22 cm
- Nevados de Chillán – 13-21 cm
- Valle Nevado – 12-20 cm
- Chapelco – 12-20 cm
- El Colorado – 7-11 cm
- La Parva – 6-10 cm
- Cerro Castor – 5-7 cm
- Corralco – 0 cm