Potent storm to drop heavy rain, mountain snow across central Chile on Sunday

By Faith Eherts, AccuWeather meteorologist

By Adam Douty, AccuWeather senior meteorologist

June 09, 2018, 11:57:15 AM EDT

As the rainy season ramps up in central and northern Chile, a storm arriving this weekend will bring heavy rain and mountain snow to the nation.

While rounds of rain will impact areas from Coquimbo through Los Lagos, the heaviest rainfall is expected to inundate areas from Santiago to Temuco.

More persistent, heavy rainfall will pick up on Saturday night and last through Sunday night. This will spoil any outdoor plans throughout the day on Sunday. 

By the time showers taper off on Monday evening, some places could receive as much as 100 mm (4 inches) of rain. This could lead to flooding issues, especially in low-lying and poor drainage areas.

Motorists should be careful not to try to traverse flooded roadways. Anyone traveling on secondary roads or those through higher terrain should be on the lookout for mudslides and flash flooding.

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High elevation areas east of the cities can expect times of heavy snow this weekend as well.

Cool air is expected to filter up from the south in the wake of this storm. Temperatures are forecast to fall to near minus 4 degrees C (25 F) on Monday night, potentially leading to slick roads and sidewalks early Tuesday morning.

On the opposite coast, scattered showers and thunderstorms will develop on Sunday from southeastern Brazil to northeast Argentina. Cities such as Buenos Aires, Montevideo and Porto Alegre could be dampened by rainfall.

While only a few showers and storms are expected, they can be enough to dampen outdoor activities and send people running for shelter.