South America Snow Forecast: Up to 30 cm by Wednesday

Snowfall forecast map — Credit: NOAA/NCEP GFS

This South America snow forecast favors the Southern Andes through Sunday, then Patagonia and Las Leñas through Wednesday. Nevados de Chillán is positioned for the largest near-term refresh, while the Santiago resorts stay quieter before a more substantial but less certain late-week cycle. Confidence is strongest from Saturday afternoon through Wednesday night, when snow levels remain low enough for wintry quality across lift terrain, though gusty exposed slopes may face intermittent operational impacts.

The ongoing storm continues to favor Nevados de Chillán and Corralco into Sunday morning before tapering. The models converge on that timing and keep snow levels below about 700 meters, comfortably below both resorts, with fairly light snow at ratios generally from 12:1 to 18:1. They differ moderately on intensity, but the published forecast through Wednesday supports 23-29 cm at Nevados de Chillán and 12-15 cm at Corralco, most of it falling this weekend. Wind projections diverge more, though several solutions support exposed gusts of 40-60 km/h and possible intermittent lift impacts.

A second wave favors northern Patagonia and Las Leñas from Monday into Wednesday. The models converge on a Monday arrival and Tuesday peak around Cerro Catedral and Chapelco, but diverge sharply on intensity, with the wettest solutions roughly doubling the drier consensus. Snow levels mostly converge below 1,200 meters while snow is falling, keeping accumulation possible to the lower mountain, and ratios near 10:1 to 15:1 point to moderate-quality snow. Wind impacts are less settled because some projections stay manageable while others reach 80-90 km/h on exposed terrain. Wednesday totals are 16-23 cm at Chapelco, 15-23 cm at Cerro Catedral, and 12-16 cm at Las Leñas.

From Thursday into next weekend, a broader Central Andes storm cycle becomes possible, but confidence falls as the models separate on onset and peak timing. The conservative signal is roughly 20-40 cm for high terrain, but the spread is large and this is potential rather than a committed total. Snow-level and snow-quality outcomes also diverge, ranging from snow at resort bases to mixed lower-mountain precipitation if levels approach 3,000 meters. Wind impacts are inconsistent enough that operational risk cannot yet be pinned down. Portillo’s latest official operations update still reports its slopes closed, so its later snow signal should not be treated as a lift-served opportunity unless the resort reopens.