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Argentina and Chile are in the midst of one of the largest snowstorms the Andes has ever seen. A powerful atmospheric river has buried resorts across the region in well over 100 inches of snow since the storm began on July 16, with Portillo, Chile, reporting the highest total: nearly 17 feet of accumulation in just two weeks. Those numbers are impressive at face value, but it’s hard to truly grasp how historic this storm is without some context.
Let’s start with Ski Portillo specifically. The resort, situated less than three hours from Santiago, Chile’s capital and largest city, typically racks up regionally impressive snow totals thanks to its high elevation and proximity to the Pacific Ocean, averaging roughly 200 inches of snowfall per year. Between July 16 and July 23 alone, Portillo received 183 inches of snow — nearly its entire seasonal average in just one week.
By sheer volume, this is likely the biggest storm the region has seen in over half a century, in an area that’s no stranger to dramatic accumulation events. Mega-storms of this scale have happened before: both 2015 and 2020 saw individual storms that brought over 100 inches of snow to the Andes. But neither comes close to Portillo’s current storm total of 213 inches as of July 30 — with more on the way.
To find a South American storm that rivals 2026’s, one would have to go all the way back to 1965, when 20 feet of snow fell on Portillo and the surrounding region between August 9 and 16.
Moreover, this storm isn’t just regionally significant — it may be one of the biggest accumulation events ever seen on a global scale. Listed below are some of the all-time biggest snowstorms from around the world:
- Capracotta, Italy: 100.8 inches — On March 5, 2015, over 8 feet of snow fell in just 18 hours, marking possibly the largest single-day accumulation event in recorded history.
- Mt. Washington, NH: 178.2 inches — In February 1969, the Northeast’s highest peak received nearly 15 feet of snowfall over the course of what was dubbed the “100-Hour Storm.”
- Thompson Pass, AK: 230.5 inches — An early-season storm in November 1952 brought nearly 20 feet of snow to Alaska before winter had even officially started.
- Tamarack, California: 390 inches — Over the course of January 1911, the town received 32.5 feet of snow, making it possibly the snowiest month ever recorded anywhere in the world.
While it’s difficult to directly compare these storms, since they occurred over wildly different timeframes, there’s no doubt Portillo’s July 2026 total of 213 inches in 14 days is no slouch on this list. A once-in-a-generation storm may sound like every powder hound’s wildest fantasy, but it’s important to note that weather events like this can carry serious consequences.
First, access to the white room for powder-crazed skiers has been extremely limited. Lifts across the continent have been buried in several feet of snow, leading to sporadic openings as resorts wait for the skies to clear. Many access roads were also forced to close due to perilous conditions and high avalanche danger. As of July 30, the highway leading to Portillo remains impassable, meaning the resort has been cut off from the outside world for over two weeks.
On a more consequential note, torrential rainfall at lower elevations has triggered a wave of mudslides and floods. These disasters have claimed the lives of more than a dozen people with several more still missing, according to Chile’s National Disaster Prevention and Response Service. Several Chilean regions have been declared under a state of catastrophe, and the storm has isolated more than 15,000 people — cut off from transportation and communication access.
The bottom line: the July 2026 storm may be a once-in-a-lifetime event for skiers in the region (once they can access the snow). It could very well become a time looked back upon with envy by those not lucky enough to have experienced it for themselves. But as with any natural event of this scale, it has also come with disastrous consequences for the people who call this region home.
