01.18.11

World Wide Weather #26: Ushuaia, Argentina

Posted in Non-US Weather, Weather News at 8:00 am by Rebekah

This week’s post in the global weather and climate series features Ushuaia, Argentina.

Montage of Ushuaia, Argentina, in the Tierra del Fuego. Source: Wikipedia

Ushuaia is the capital city of Tierra del Fuego Province, in southern Argentina. Widely regarded as the southernmost city in the world, Ushuaia is situated on the southern coast of Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego, with the Martial Mountains to the north and the Beagle Channel to the south. Tierra del Fuego (in English, “Land of Fire”) is an archipelago on the southern end of South America; the southernmost point on the southernmost island is Cape Horn.

The island chain was first visited by Europeans (on Ferdinand Magellan’s voyage) in 1520, although natives had lived in this region for hundreds of years before then. British missionaries gave the city its name in the mid-1800s, as they were the first to really settle in Ushuaia. The population increased in the 1880s, following rumors of gold, but the rumors proved to be false. In 1896, a federal prison was established in Ushuaia; the president of Argentina had been pushing for the city to become a penal colony since 1873.

Today, Ushuaia has a (2010 estimated) population of 63,280. The primary economic activities include fishing, natural gas and oil extraction, sheep farming, and ecotourism.

A few more facts about Ushuaia:

• Time zone: Argentina Time (UTC-3)
• Average elevation: 16 feet (5 meters)
• Climate zone: Subpolar oceanic
• Average high temperature: 49 °F (9 °C)
• Average low temperature: 35 °F (2 °C)
• Average annual high/low temperature range: 40 to 57 °F (4 to 14 °C) / 29 to 42 °F (-2 to 5 °C)
• Record high temperature: 85 °F (29 °C)
• Record low temperature: -13 °F (-25 °C)
• Average annual precipitation: 21 inches (530 mm)

Weather: At nearly 55 °S, Ushuaia experiences short, cool summers and long, somewhat wet and cold winters. The climate of Tierra del Fuego may be compared to that of the Aleutian Islands. The southern tip of South America frequently gets hit by low-pressure systems, and this week is no different.

GFS model forecast for surface pressure and precipitation over South America this morning…note the lows (blue concentric circles) on the bottom of the map. Click to enlarge. Source: Weather Online UK

Infrared satellite image of southern South America from last night. Note the two swirls at the bottom of the image; those are the low-pressure systems (moving from west to east). Source: Servicio Meteorológico Nacional

There is a chance of rain every day and night this week for Ushuaia; but then again, the average number of rainy days per year for Ushuaia is 214. It is also pretty windy down there…winds this week may range from about 10 to 30 mph, mostly from the west. Temperatures are pretty typical for this time of year, with forecast highs in the lower 50s and lows in the upper 30s.

For weather maps and information on current and forecast Ushuaia weather, see the Servicio Meteorológico Nacional (Argentinian National Weather Service), Weather Underground, and Weather Online UK.

For more information on Ushuaia, here’s a link to Wikipedia.

Next Tuesday we will take a look at the climate and weather in another part of the globe. As always, if you have any suggestions for future cities, please leave a comment!

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