In Focus….Arica

Bet you have never, ever heard of that place. I doubt if most weather humans or weather geeks would recognize it right away.

So, let’s get on with it.

Arica is in the north edge of Chile and in the north end of the Atacama Desert. It is very close to the Pacific Ocean. Not a real big place.

The average annual rain amount for Arica is only 0.02. of an inch. Here in Alabama rain country, we all know that is barely enough to wet the pavement. Arica once experienced 14 years in a row with no measurable rain. Why, you ask, if they are on the shore of the Pacific Ocean, so little rain?

Tis the rotation of the earth. In the Northern Hemisphere, weather systems move from west to east. Just the opposite in the Southern Hemisphere. So moisture coming in from the Atlantic side has to go all the way across South America before getting to Chile. Then there is the huge Andes Mountain range, longest in the world. Any moisture that has a chance of reaching Chile is milked out on the east slopes. Some of the mountains along the Chile-Argentina border exceed 22,000 feet elevation.

A week or so ago, something very interesting happened. About 100 miles south of Arica, the much larger city of Iquique got some rain. (just some light rain) Their average annual is also 0.02. They sometimes go years with no rain so homes are built to protect from the sun instead of rain. Many roofs are made of wood or even cardboard. The light shower damaged the roofs to 4,000 homes! Schools were closed.

(This story one of a series on no particular schedule)

Category: Pre-November 2010 Posts