The weather in Patagonia is highly unpredictable. In fact, it’s not uncommon to experience four seasons in an entire day!
A client rang the other day asking about the weather conditions in Patagonia. So we thought it would be a good idea to start a series of blog posts about the overall weather conditions for different areas in Patagonia. That way you can be informed before you go, and hopefully be a lot more prepared – whether that means packing your sunhat, wooly jumper or a rain jacket!
The climatic variations in Patagonia are influenced mostly by the relief (which is incredibly varied!), the sea and the winds. There are also several micro-climates, such as the town of Futaleufu, which has a unique rain-shadow that makes it much drier than Puerto Montt but somewhat wetter than Esquel! So if it is raining in Puerto Montt, it doesn’t mean it will necessarily be raining further up in the Andes mountains.
Overall Patagonian summers offer warm, sunny days and cool nights. Patagonia days are long, the sun rises at about 4:30 a.m – 6am and sets near 10:30 p.m. Typically temperatures are around 20-24ºC during the day, dropping to about 2-8 ºC at night. Higher elevations will experience a slightly cooler climate, and frosts have been know to occur at night, even during the summer. During April, daytime temperatures are usually in the 15 ºC, and drop to the 2ºC at night.
This post shows the average weather conditions for El Calafate near Lago Argentino (shown on map below).
