Polar wave: videos of historic snowfall in southern Brazil | At least 13 cities have woken up shaded white

Historic snowfall surprised Brazilians in at least 13 cities in Rio Grande do Sul this morning, who saw how a thin layer of snow covered the entire surface. The phenomenon started after a mass of polar air entered the region. Soon the networks filled with photos and videos.

“The cold air mass has the potential to be one of the most intense of this century to reach the national territory, in a climate scenario conducive to extreme cold events, ”they warned from the Brazilian site MetSul, which specializes in meteorological information for the region.

In the state of Santa Catalina the temperature reached -7.8 °. At least 33 municipalities in that state have seen snow or ice water fall, or both.

Surprised by the unusual nature of the weather phenomenon, Brazilians took to the streets to celebrate under the snow, which was portrayed in photos and videos.

“In more than 30 years of weather forecasting in Rio Grande do Sul, we have never seen horizontal snow with such strong winds and considerably reduced visibility. It’s what North Americans call a blizzard, ”they said from MetSul.

“It will be between Wednesday and Thursday morning when the phenomenon will be much larger and can be recorded in a large number of municipalities in southern Brazil, in Rio, Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina. MetSul considers that possibility that it is the snow event with the greatest geographical coverage since 2013, fall even in places where it has not snowed for eight years, and even snow can accumulate, ”the weather information site reported in a bulletin.

From MetSul, they also reported that this snowfall is different from what normally happens, when it only snows in the highest places in southern Brazil. “This time you can snow in places even at low and medium altitude. This has happened a few times in recent history over the past 20 or 30 years. The probability of snow from the south of Rio Grande do Sul to Paraná was observed, for example, in 1984 and 2000 ”, indicates the forecast.

The frost that Brazil is experiencing responds to a mass of polar air that entered through southern Brazil and caused a sharp drop in temperature, with marks as low as -6 °. This polar cold wave could be compared to the cold waves of July 2000 and 2007.