The Atacama Desert across northern Chile rarely experiences rainfall or even snowfall. This area of Chile has a climate that is best described as arid to hyper arid and there are even weather stations within the vicinity of the town of Calama where rainfall has never been recorded since the instruments were erected.
Hemmed in by the cold waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west (The Humbolt Current is a cold ocean current that contributes to the aridity of the South American west coast) and the Andes Mountains to the east that soar over 6,000 metres in part, the desert is beset by rain shadows or natural conditions that mostly prevents rainfall.
On rare occasions, an unusual event occurs which is another side of an El Nino event that is rarely reported.
During August 2026, two winter storms impacted the northern areas of Chile which penetrated into the tropical regions and into the core of the Atacama Desert. While snow has occurred in recent years in some higher locations, the most recent event brought incredible snowfall which approached the coastal regions.
The Oli (Operational Land Imager) on the NASA USGS Landsat 8 and Landsat 9 satellite captured the images attached to this post. The Chainantor Plateau within the Altiplano Puna Volcanic complex was heavily impacted by the snowstorm.
A second snowstorm brought snow close to the city of Antofagasta. The second event was truly widespread. Given that waters have warmed off the South American western coastline, there was ample moisture available to support widespread precipitation (In this case, snow at lower elevation).
The coastal town of Taltal received 40 mm of rain in 3 days (Against a yearly total that varies from 0.63 mm to 8 mm per year depending on location). The rain event that occurred here was truly exceptional.
The rain or snow event reached into the arid core of the Atacama Desert. It also shows that even across the driest deserts of the planet, extreme weather events can still occur.
It also showcases that snow can fall across a desert.
I remember being in the Mojave Desert of eastern California (USA) in May 2007. Afternoon showers that developed from cold weather cumulonimbus clouds brought snow showers to desert locations around the small town of Seligman. Thus, I have seen snowfall occur in a desert but not to the scale where deep snowfall occurs.
The event that occurred across the Atacama Desert of Chile of recent days demonstrates that snowfall across desert regions is more common.
The images supporting the post are from NASA “Image of the Day” August 19 2026 for the Antofaghasta region of Chile.