Storm and wind alerts cover much of Argentina for Friday

Argentina is facing a volatile weather day on Friday 31 July, with an orange alert for severe storms across parts of the central region and warnings of extreme wind and heavy snow along the cordillera. The strong contrast between near -10 °C in the south and almost 30 °C in the north is driving instability Source: La Voz.

Storm threat

The Servicio Meteorológico Nacional (SMN) issued an orange alert covering the City of Buenos Aires, the AMBA, the south of Santa Fe, the south of Entre Ríos and much of Buenos Aires province, from the Atlantic coast to Mar del Plata and Miramar Source: Clarín.

• Thunderstorms are expected to become locally severe between the afternoon and late night, with heavy rain, hail and frequent lightning Source: Clarín.
• Rain accumulations in the orange zone are estimated at 40–80 mm, with higher localised totals possible Source: Clarín, while for the AMBA Infobae cites 30–60 mm Source: Infobae.

Wind and snow

In the high mountains from Mendoza to Jujuy, gusts of 120–150 km/h are forecast, along with Zonda winds in valleys of 40–50 km/h and gusts above 80 km/h Source: La Voz. Orange wind alerts are also active for Catamarca, San Luis, Mendoza, La Rioja and San Juan, where Zonda gusts may reach 100 km/h Source: Clarín. Snow accumulations of up to 60 cm are possible between Neuquén and San Juan, with persistent snow in Santa Cruz Source: La Voz.

Conflicting figures

The outlets disagree on wind intensity in the storm zone. Clarín cites gusts up to 50 km/h in Buenos Aires Source: Clarín, while Infobae says gusts can exceed 70 km/h in the strongest cells Source: Infobae and La Voz reports locally severe storms with gusts above 90 km/h Source: La Voz. Rainfall totals also vary by source and zone, with some estimates higher than others Source: ClarínSource: Infobae.