Given the arrival of the first rains and gusts of wind in the province of Choapa, CGE and Aguas del Valle have already activated their preventive operational plans in the event of possible complications.
For the night of this Monday and the early morning of today, the arrival, in the province of Choapa, of the first rains as a result of the passage of two frontal systems, which would extend to the entire region, at least , until next Thursday.
According to the first forecasts, the meteorological phenomenon would leave up to 25 millimeters of water falling in some areas of Limarí and Choapa, and about a meter of snow in mountain areas. Cristian Martinez-Villalobos, doctor in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences and academic at the Faculty of Engineering and Sciences of the Adolfo Ibáñez University, explains that the rainfall that is affecting several regions of central Chile is associated with the passage of an “atmospheric river.” “These are narrow filament-type corridors – typical widths of 200 to 400 km with lengths measured in thousands of kilometers – that transport large amounts of water vapor from the tropics to mid-latitudes, such as where La Serena, Coquimbo and Santiago are located. Upon reaching the Chilean coast, this atmospheric river interacts with the continental topography, potentially generating large amounts of precipitation,” the academic explained.
Regarding the La Serena Coquimbo conurbation, Martinez-Villalobos explains that most models predict slight accumulations of less than 1 millimeter between now and Thursday the 23rd and with only a couple of models indicating more significant accumulations, of up to 30 millimeters in one of the cases. “It is most likely that it will rain in moderate amounts. However, it is always important to take into account the uncertainty in these forecasts,” says the professional.
For Jaime Leyton, Meganoticias meteorologist, meanwhile, in La Serena during the event around 14.3 millimeters of water could fall. In Vicuña, for its part, a volume of water fall of 36.4 mm is calculated; in Monte Patria of 38.1 mm and in Illapel of 19.3 mm.
For his part, Tomás Caballero, meteorologist at the Center for Advanced Studies in Arid Zones (CEAZA), explains that the meteorological phenomenon that will affect the region includes two systems. “One, where the cold front arrives first, which will arrive between Monday and Tuesday, and then a low pressure system will come, which still comes with rain, but more direct towards the Coquimbo Region, which will be between Wednesday and Thursday” .
Regarding the amounts, Caballero explained that “at least the models agree on the precipitation in the mountains, which will be quite high, since we would have amounts between 60 and 80 cm of snow. As for the valleys (the forecasts) agree that the amounts will be between 10 and 30 mm, and in the coastal area they are a little more uncertain, although a little lower, perhaps up to 10 mm. But not much more than that,” said the CEAZA professional.
Regarding this, meteorologist Jaime Leyton specified that the rains will start in the southern part of the region, in the province of Choapa and that “they would reach greater importance on Wednesday from the morning and until the early hours of Thursday. Certainly until 8 a.m. on Thursday.” In the Coquimbo Region, he points out, “the presence of precipitation from the second frontal system is clearer.”
In that sense, Mi Radio meteorologist Cristóbal Juliá pointed out that the commune of Los Vilos will be the first commune to receive the expected rain during the night of Monday and early Tuesday morning. “On Wednesday the rainfall will extend to Limarí and Elqui. In total, the event will leave between 10 and 15 mm in Los Vilos and Canela; in Salamanca and Illapel, 15 and 20 mm; in Punitaqui, Río Hurtado and Ovalle between 10 and 15 mm; Monte Patria and Combarbalá between 20 to 25 mm; in Andacollo 7 to 10 mm; Vicuña 10 to 15 mm; and in Paihuano, 20 to 25 mm,” says the professional. However, in La Serena and Coquimbo the water fall should be between 2 and 5 mm, with greater force on Wednesday afternoon. In the mountain range, meanwhile, snow should begin to fall this Tuesday until Thursday, which would leave about a meter of solid precipitation in some mountain sectors.
NORMAL RANGES
When consulted, the regional director(s) of SENAPRED, Raúl Garrido, explained that the Preventive Early Warning that had been in place since Saturday was updated due to the fall of normal to moderate snowfall.
In that sense, Garrido indicated that the precipitation ranges are classified as normal and that the amount of snow would range on average from 5 to 30 centimeters in the region’s mountain range. “According to the SERNAGEOMIN minutes, the possibility of mass removal is low. However, the call to the community is to maintain preventive and self-care behavior,” he indicated.
PRECAUTIONARY MEASURES
Meanwhile, companies that provide basic services such as water and electricity have already activated their emergency plans in the face of possible complexities. Thus, CGE launched its preventive operations plan to address eventual power supply interruptions as expeditiously as possible.
This plan includes measures such as the preparation of operation centers, the deployment of SAE-type emergency care brigades (Emergency Care Service) and home care teams, to address supply interruptions that could arise, according to the forecast. meteorological, mainly due to the action of the wind or the fall of trees, branches or other objects on the electrical network.
Likewise, CGE had heavy brigades – dedicated to the reconstruction of damaged infrastructure such as poles and power lines – that operate on the ground and, in addition, increased the number of emergency care brigades deployed throughout the territory.
For his part, the regional manager of Aguas del Valle, Andrés Nazer, reported that the utility activated its action protocols following the announcement of a new frontal system for the area. “We review the electrical backup systems and monitor the behavior of surface sources to detect possible changes in the turbidity of rivers and water sources. In addition, we reinforced the maintenance of the collector network at critical points,” explained the executive.
