Atacama Storms Dump 40 mm of Rain, Forcing ALMA Into Survival Mode
Updated
Updated · IFLScience · Aug 28
Atacama Storms Dump 40 mm of Rain, Forcing ALMA Into Survival Mode
3 articles · Updated · IFLScience · Aug 28
Summary
NASA Landsat images from Aug. 6 and Aug. 14 show snow blanketing Chile’s Atacama Desert after winter storms transformed one of Earth’s driest regions.
Nearly 40 millimeters of rain fell in Taltal over three August days—about 10 times its annual average—as an unusually large low-pressure system and cutoff low tapped coastal moisture during El Niño.
ALMA suspended operations and moved its antennas into protective survival mode as snow and high winds hit the Chajnantor plateau; some other observatories in northern Chile also halted work.
SENAPRED said the August storms left 1,166 people in shelters, 580 homeless and one person dead, after flash floods and mudflows swept through places including Tocopilla.
Chile has faced storm damage since mid-July, with 15 deaths in Coquimbo earlier in the season, underscoring how the current Super El Niño is amplifying extreme weather.