Overview
- The August 2026 storms, captured by Landsat 8/9 and MODIS satellite images, blanketed large parts of the Atacama with snow that reached from the Andes nearly to the Pacific coast.
- ALMA suspended science operations and placed its antennas into a protective survival mode on the high Chajnantor Plateau as heavy snow and strong winds moved through the array’s site.
- The National Disaster Prevention and Response Service reported mudflows and flash floods that affected thousands of people and caused major damage to hundreds of homes.
- Meteorologists say the events were driven by a cutoff low that broke away from an unusually large trough and that a strengthening El Niño pushed the Southern Hemisphere storm track closer to northern Chile.
- Snow in the Atacama is rare but not unprecedented—similar episodes occurred in 2011 and 2025—and scientists warn these episodic, broader wet events may become more likely during strong El Niño years, raising questions about preparedness for observatories and coastal towns.