From drought to floods: heavy rains in Argentina and Uruguay

After months of drought, parts of Argentina and Uruguay faced flooding due to heavy rainfall between August 16 and 18.

These downpours were unrelated to the El Niño weather phenomenon, clarified Argentine meteorologist Matías Reinoso.

However, he highlighted that El Niño will likely bring more rainfall to the region in the coming months.

In Argentina, Buenos Aires province was significantly affected.

San Fernando received rainfall measuring 117 millimeters, while La Plata, the provincial capital, recorded 89 millimeters, leading to disruptions in several neighborhoods.

Meanwhile, in Uruguay, the Santa Lucía river basin, which provides drinking water to the Montevideo metropolitan area, registered 184 millimeters of rainfall.

While this helped alleviate the recent water shortage in the Uruguayan capital, it also led to the evacuation of several families due to the city’s drainage system being overwhelmed.

Reinoso explained that the rapid weather shift resulted from the region’s combination of warm, humid air and a contrasting air mass.

The presence of an anticyclone in the Atlantic changed wind direction, introducing significant moisture from the ocean and aiding continuous rainfall.

Both La Plata in Argentina and parts of Montevideo in Uruguay experienced flooding. Besides meteorological factors, local soil types also played a role in these events.

Reinoso emphasized that while this event was not linked to El Niño, the climate phenomenon is developing in the area.

Its effects, mainly affecting precipitation patterns, will be evident in the upcoming months.

However, he also stated that El Niño doesn’t uniformly impact all areas and does not always result in extreme weather events like floods.