For a couple of days, the province of Córdoba and other parts of the country have been going through a cold wave very unusual for this time of year, with maximum temperatures that should reach between 20 and 22° and barely reach 15° in the best of cases.
Much of the Córdoba territory expects temperatures that will not exceed 10° maximum in the coming days, as reported by the National Meteorological Service (SMN). They wait snowfall of different intensity, especially in the Altas Cumbres sector and other areas, such as the lower parts of the Calamuchita and Santa María departments.
According to the Aquae Foundation, the water that falls from the clouds transforms into fine ice crystals and falls to the earth in the form of flakes that we call snow. It is formed when the atmospheric temperature is zero degrees Celsius or less and a certain degree of humidity is necessary. Everything to happen at the same time.
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Snow is made up of crystals that join together thanks to the collision of microscopic water droplets as they precipitate into a vacuum. This is a type of solid precipitation, so water from the clouds begins to fall in liquid form.
When temperatures are below 0°C, liquid droplets end up crystallizing. When the tiny crystals collide with each other, they stick together, forming what we know as snowflakes. The more crystals collide, the greater the weight of the snowflake, which. Coming from the clouds, it falls due to the force of gravity.
Aquae explains that there are many dry climates where there are extreme cold temperatures that never see snow. An example of this is the dry valleys of Antarctica, a frozen area where the lack of humidity makes it impossible for snow to form.
Snow in Pampa de Achala, Córdoba. (Photo: archive)
Meanwhile, the forecaster of the Córdoba International Airport, Gerardo Barrera, explained to Chain 3 that, until now, no snow has fallen in the mountains because there must be certain climatological phenomena that have not yet occurred in the territory of Córdoba.
“Although there was precipitation, in some cases sleet, for there to be snow precipitation, the vertical structure of the temperature of the atmosphere has to be very particular and for that to be combined with the clouds and precipitation”, the meteorologist detailed.
Nevada at the Bosque Alegre Ground Station, on June 16, 2021. (Photo: file)
History of snowfall in Córdoba capital
• On June 16, 2021, Córdoba woke up under a white blanket a few days before winter began. As announced by the National Meteorological Service, the snow arrived and turned areas of the capital and a large part of the southern and western provincial territory white.
More than one person from Córdoba was surprised this Wednesday morning when he looked out the window and saw a heavy snow in different locations in the province. In some places, the phenomenon continued during the morning.
Early, the white blanket, just over two centimeters long, covered various neighborhoods of the provincial capital. It also spread to towns such as Villa Carlos Paz, Villa Allende, Alta Gracia, Aniscate, Colonia Caroya and Colonia Tirolesa, among others.
In the Traslasierra Valley, the white blanket covered the area of Los Pozos, Los Hornillos and in a range of towns, from Las Rabonas to Ambul, and others in the department of Pocho and Minas.
There were sectors with 5 cm of snow accumulated and others where the wind punished with up to 20 centimeters of snow.
Snowfall in Carlos Paz, on June 16, 2021. (Photo: file)
• On July 9, 2007, Several days before, specifically on July 6, a cold front followed by air of polar origin advanced through Patagonia and extended to the center of the country, causing minimum temperatures up to -8°C in the southwest of Santa Cruz and snowfall in several regions of Patagonia.
That Saturday the 7th, the entry of cold air was reinforced by the intensification of the wind caused by an anticyclone in the Pacific. Temperatures continued to drop throughout central and southern Argentina, with more snowfall in Patagonia and also in southern Mendoza.
On Sunday, July 8, the anticyclonic system completely entered the national territory, causing easterly winds in the center of the country, and carrying a large amount of humidity from the ocean. These conditions were conducive to the formation of cloudiness and precipitation in the form of snow, especially in Cuyo (Mendoza, San Luis, San Juan) and the province of Córdoba.
But on July 9, from the mountain range he entered very cold air at altitude (there was -30°C at 5000 m) that moved towards the center and east of the territory during that day.
Snowfall in Las Jarillas, Córdoba, on June 16, 2021. (Photo: file)
Meanwhile, near the surface, the anticyclone continued to reinforce the entry of very cold and humid air from the east, thus dominating all strata of the middle and lower atmosphere.
The combination of these factors favored the formation of a cloud cover with its base at a low height from the ground, but with sufficient vertical development to form snow inside and precipitate the flakes. The intense cold throughout the atmosphere and the weak wind allowed the snowflakes not to melt and to be seen on the surface.
So it was that, during that July 9 and the early morning of the 10th, snow not only fell in the Federal Capital; There were also records of snowfall in several locations in the north of the province of Buenos Aires, in the south of Santa Fe, Cordova, San Luis, north of Mendoza, San Juan, La Rioja and even Catamarca.
