Earth Science
White Desert: A Rare Blizzard Blankets the World's Driest Place
In early July 2011, a rare and powerful cold front moved over the Andes into Chile, bringing unusually cold temperatures and significant moisture. This resulted in a widespread blanket of snow across the Atacama Desert, an area renowned for its extreme aridity. The event, captured by NASA's Terra satellite, transformed the brown, barren landscape into a vast expanse of white, highlighting the capacity for extreme weather anomalies even in the planet's most stable and dry climates.
By Obvious Later Editorial · Updated
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Evidence
What changed
A significant and widespread snowfall occurred in early July 2011 across the Atacama Desert in Chile, an event that is highly unusual for one of the driest regions on the planet.
Why it matters
The event serves as a dramatic case study in weather variability, demonstrating that even hyper-arid regions are not immune to extreme precipitation events when specific meteorological conditions align. It provides valuable data for scientists studying atmospheric circulation and the potential impacts of moisture on the desert's unique, and mostly microbial, ecosystem.
The surprising part
While the images are striking, many may not realize that some snowfall does occur in the Atacama every few years. The key distinction of the 2011 event was its vast extent. This isn't necessarily a sign of permanent climate reversal for the region, but rather a powerful, short-term weather event driven by a specific phenomenon—a strong cold front.
Key facts
- Widespread snow covered the Atacama Desert in Chile in early July 2011.
- The snow was the result of a cold front bringing moisture and freezing temperatures.
- The Atacama Desert is commonly known as the driest place on Earth.
- The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured natural-color imagery of the snow on July 7, 2011.
- While some snow can fall in the Atacama every few years, the 2011 event was noted for being particularly widespread.
What to watch next
How we'll know if this is real.
Next
The frequency and intensity of future cold fronts and associated precipitation events in the region.
Next
Scientific research on the response of the Atacama's microbial ecosystems to this rare influx of water.
Next
Changes in southeastern Pacific weather patterns that could influence moisture transport over the Andes.
Evidence and sources
Rare, Widespread Snow in the Atacama Desert
NASA Earth Observatory
Citations link to the primary sources used to compile this signal.