One of Earth’s driest places was just covered in snow
Rare storms covered huge stretches of Chile’s Atacama Desert in snow and dumped extraordinary amounts of rain on one of the driest regions on Earth. The extreme weather shut down observatories, triggered damaging floods and mudflows, and unfolded against the backdrop of a strengthening El Niño.
In August 2026, an unusual snowfall blanketed parts of the Atacama Desert, one of Earth's driest locations. The snowfall was triggered by a series of winter storms that swept across northern Chile. The Atacama Desert, known for its extreme aridity, typically experiences precipitation only a few times per decade. The unusual snowfall pattern extended from the Andes across the desert toward the Pacific coast, covering the Chajnantor plateau, which houses the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), one of the world's most powerful radio telescopes.
The heavy snow and strong winds forced ALMA to suspend operations and place its antennas into a protective mode. Later in August, a second storm spread fresh snow across a much broader region. This was accompanied by significant rainfall, with Taltal receiving nearly 40 millimeters (1.6 inches) over three days, which is roughly 10 times the city's average annual rainfall.
The intense precipitation led to mudflows and flash flooding, affecting thousands of people and causing major damage to hundreds of homes in northern Chile. The unusual weather pattern was linked to the strengthening El Niño, which typically weakens the subtropical Pacific high and increases the likelihood of powerful weather systems reaching normally arid regions in Chile.
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