Patagonia faces severe atmospheric river floods and polar cold alerts

Argentina’s National Meteorological Service (SMN) raised a red alert for the northern Patagonian Andes as a category‑4 atmospheric river, arriving from Chile, brings heavy rainfall. The alert covers parts of Neuquén, Río Negro and Chubut, with expected accumulations of 60‑100 mm and isolated peaks above 150 mm, raising risks of flash floods, landslides and road closures. Orange and yellow alerts extend to adjacent zones, and the phenomenon is linked to the emerging El Niño phase.

A simultaneous polar cold front is sweeping southern South America. Chile recorded unprecedented low temperatures—Chillán ‑9.3 °C, Puerto Montt ‑8.1 °C, Temuco ‑7.9 °C—while Argentina issued yellow cold alerts for Buenos Aires, Córdoba, Santa Fe and Patagonian provinces, where temperatures fell to around ‑9 °C and as low as ‑16 °C in Cuyo. The extreme cold disrupted transport, limited gas supplies in Mar del Plata, and spiked residential heating demand.