Overview

• In Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay, the late‑August window is popularly watched for the “Tormenta de Santa Rosa,” which often signals the shift toward spring and can spill into early September.
• Argentina’s Servicio Meteorológico Nacional says the occurrence is not fixed, attributing storms near the date to moisture‑rich northerly flow interacting with lingering cold fronts.
• Recent coverage cites statistical reviews showing Buenos Aires has recorded storms around 30 August in more than half of years, though they are not necessarily the most intense of the season.
• The devotion stems from a legend that Santa Rosa’s prayers thwarted a pirate threat to Lima, with accounts variously dating the episode to 1615 or, in other tellings, 1561 and naming different corsairs.
• Rosa de Lima, born Isabel Flores de Oliva, was canonized in 1671 by Pope Clemente X as the first saint of the Americas, and her feast was set for 30 August in the Roman calendar.