Coldest May since 1950 brings out hats and gloves in Chile's capital area.
Santiago is experiencing a record-breaking freeze. After an eight-day "cold wave" passed through the capital region this week, the average temperature for May plummeted to 37°F (-1.7°C) - the coldest since 1950, as per Angélica Guzáman, a meteorologist with the Chilean Meteorologic Directorate.
On Thursday, the coldest day of the year so far, a weather station recorded a freezing 30°F (-1.1°C) temperature.
"You need to go out dressed in double layers," said Rosita Moya, a publicist who spoke with CNN on a frosty Friday morning, her parka's fur-lined hood pulled up. "I had to hunt for my hat."
Chileans are accustomed to the cold, but not so early in the year. Typically, a May in Santiago sees a high of 64°F (17.8°C), dipping down to 43°F (6.1°C) at night. Winter's intensity usually hits in July, with average lows dropping to 37°F (-2.8°C).
A cold air mass lasting over the weekend is responsible for this unseasonable weather, Guzáman explained, with below-average temperatures expected to continue.
Authorities have declared a "code blue" nationwide, opening extra shelters and services for homeless individuals.
"We need to prepare: warm clothes, closed shoes, protection for your hands. Watch out for the parts of your body that are most exposed; we must cover them up," a radio announcer cautioned on a broadcast on Thursday night.
Tucked into a puffer jacket by central La Vega market, Diamira Salas sipped a hot quinoa drink spiced with brown sugar and pineapple, which she'd just purchased from a street cart. The perfect concoction to stave off chilly temperatures.
"It contains natural protein and, in this cold weather, it gives you calories," Salas, a nurse, said.
Some Santiago residents haven't given much thought to their winter diets. "Chocolates are selling, cookies are selling, lots of coffee," said Nancy Mujica, who operates a magazine kiosk in the Bellas Artes area.
At Santo Tisla's fruit and vegetable stand, the cold has been disastrous for business. "Grapes are freezing, turning into chunks of ice," Tisla said, mimicking shivering customers feeling the produce.
Still, despite the season change and the first hints of orange hues in the tree-lined boulevards, life goes on frosty Santiago.
After work on Thursday, the usual crowds of post-work professionals gathered for a happy-hour pisco on Lastarria neighborhood's sidewalk bars. With blue-flamed heat lamps emitting warmth nearby, a street performer in drag strutted back and forth to Latin pop blaring out.
Her revealing, sequined outfit - a skimpy two-piece - was mostly covered up, except during the songs' peak, when she tossed her fleece aside, draping it over her shoulder with a twirl.
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Source: edition.cnn.com
