Climate and Average Weather Year Round at Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport Chile

At Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport, the summers are warm, arid, and clear and the winters are cold and partly cloudy. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 38°F to 85°F and is rarely below 30°F or above 90°F.

Based on the tourism score, the best time of year to visit Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport for warm-weather activities is from late November to mid March.

The warm season lasts for 4.0 months, from November 24 to March 23, with an average daily high temperature above 79°F. The hottest month of the year at Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport is January, with an average high of 85°F and low of 55°F.

The cool season lasts for 3.3 months, from May 21 to August 31, with an average daily high temperature below 64°F. The coldest month of the year at Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport is July, with an average low of 38°F and high of 59°F.

At Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport, the average percentage of the sky covered by clouds experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year at Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport begins around October 17 and lasts for 6.0 months, ending around April 18.

The clearest month of the year at Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport is February, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 91% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around April 18 and lasts for 6.0 months, ending around October 17.

The cloudiest month of the year at Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport is June, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 51% of the time.

A wet day is one with at least 0.04 inches of liquid or liquid-equivalent precipitation. The chance of wet days at Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport varies throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 4.3 months, from May 2 to September 10, with a greater than 11% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days at Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport is June, with an average of 5.7 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 7.7 months, from September 10 to May 2. The month with the fewest wet days at Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport is December, with an average of 0.6 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

Among wet days, we distinguish between those that experience rain alone, snow alone, or a mixture of the two. The month with the most days of rain alone at Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport is June, with an average of 5.7 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 20% on June 26.

Rainfall

To show variation within the months and not just the monthly totals, we show the rainfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day of the year. Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport experiences significant seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 5.6 months, from April 10 to September 30, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The month with the most rain at Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport is June, with an average rainfall of 2.5 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 6.4 months, from September 30 to April 10. The month with the least rain at Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport is January, with an average rainfall of 0.1 inches.

The length of the day at Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport varies significantly over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is June 20, with 9 hours, 56 minutes of daylight; the longest day is December 21, with 14 hours, 22 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 6:26 AM on December 4, and the latest sunrise is 1 hour, 33 minutes later at 7:59 AM on April 6. The earliest sunset is at 5:41 PM on June 11, and the latest sunset is 3 hours, 15 minutes later at 8:56 PM on January 7.

Daylight saving time (DST) is observed at Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport during 2024, starting in the spring on September 8 and ending in the fall on April 6.

The figure below presents a compact representation of key lunar data for 2024. The horizontal axis is the day, the vertical axis is the hour of the day, and the colored areas indicate when the moon is above the horizon. The vertical gray bars (new Moons) and blue bars (full Moons) indicate key Moon phases.

We base the humidity comfort level on the dew point, as it determines whether perspiration will evaporate from the skin, thereby cooling the body. Lower dew points feel drier and higher dew points feel more humid. Unlike temperature, which typically varies significantly between night and day, dew point tends to change more slowly, so while the temperature may drop at night, a muggy day is typically followed by a muggy night.

The perceived humidity level at Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport, as measured by the percentage of time in which the humidity comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable, does not vary significantly over the course of the year, remaining a virtually constant 0% throughout.

This section discusses the wide-area hourly average wind vector (speed and direction) at 10 meters above the ground. The wind experienced at any given location is highly dependent on local topography and other factors, and instantaneous wind speed and direction vary more widely than hourly averages.

The average hourly wind speed at Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport experiences mild seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 4.5 months, from October 29 to March 14, with average wind speeds of more than 5.9 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year at Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport is January, with an average hourly wind speed of 6.7 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 7.5 months, from March 14 to October 29. The calmest month of the year at Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport is May, with an average hourly wind speed of 4.9 miles per hour.

The predominant average hourly wind direction at Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport varies throughout the year.

The wind is most often from the east for 7.9 months, from March 4 to October 31, with a peak percentage of 58% on July 5. The wind is most often from the west for 4.1 months, from October 31 to March 4, with a peak percentage of 49% on January 1.

Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport is located near a large body of water (e.g., ocean, sea, or large lake). This section reports on the wide-area average surface temperature of that water.

The average water temperature experiences some seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The time of year with warmer water lasts for 2.8 months, from January 2 to March 28, with an average temperature above 61°F. The month of the year at Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport with the warmest water is February, with an average temperature of 62°F.

The time of year with cooler water lasts for 4.5 months, from June 15 to October 30, with an average temperature below 56°F. The month of the year at Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport with the coolest water is August, with an average temperature of 55°F.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is at Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport throughout the year, we compute two travel scores.

The tourism score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 65°F and 80°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport for general outdoor tourist activities is from late November to mid March, with a peak score in the second week of January.

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 75°F and 90°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport for hot-weather activities is from mid December to late February, with a peak score in the second week of January.

Methodology

For each hour between 8:00 AM and 9:00 PM of each day in the analysis period (1980 to 2016), independent scores are computed for perceived temperature, cloud cover, and total precipitation. Those scores are combined into a single hourly composite score, which is then aggregated into days, averaged over all the years in the analysis period, and smoothed.

Our cloud cover score is 10 for fully clear skies, falling linearly to 9 for mostly clear skies, and to 1 for fully overcast skies.

Our precipitation score, which is based on the three-hour precipitation centered on the hour in question, is 10 for no precipitation, falling linearly to 9 for trace precipitation, and to 0 for 0.04 inches of precipitation or more.

Our tourism temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 50°F, rising linearly to 9 for 65°F, to 10 for 75°F, falling linearly to 9 for 80°F, and to 1 for 90°F or hotter.

Our beach/pool temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 65°F, rising linearly to 9 for 75°F, to 10 for 82°F, falling linearly to 9 for 90°F, and to 1 for 100°F or hotter.

Definitions of the growing season vary throughout the world, but for the purposes of this report, we define it as the longest continuous period of non-freezing temperatures (≥ 32°F) in the year (the calendar year in the Northern Hemisphere, or from July 1 until June 30 in the Southern Hemisphere).

The growing season at Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport typically lasts for 9.2 months (278 days), from around August 27 to around June 2, rarely starting before July 30 or after September 22, and rarely ending before May 6 or after June 27.

Growing degree days are a measure of yearly heat accumulation used to predict plant and animal development, and defined as the integral of warmth above a base temperature, discarding any excess above a maximum temperature. In this report, we use a base of 50°F and a cap of 86°F.

Based on growing degree days alone, the first spring blooms at Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport should appear around August 8, only rarely appearing before August 1 or after August 20.

This section discusses the total daily incident shortwave solar energy reaching the surface of the ground over a wide area, taking full account of seasonal variations in the length of the day, the elevation of the Sun above the horizon, and absorption by clouds and other atmospheric constituents. Shortwave radiation includes visible light and ultraviolet radiation.

The average daily incident shortwave solar energy experiences extreme seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The brighter period of the year lasts for 3.6 months, from November 2 to February 19, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 8.1 kWh. The brightest month of the year at Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport is December, with an average of 9.3 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 3.6 months, from April 30 to August 16, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 4.1 kWh. The darkest month of the year at Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport is June, with an average of 2.7 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport are -33.393 deg latitude, -70.786 deg longitude, and 1,572 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport contains only modest variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 105 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 1,576 feet. Within 10 miles contains only modest variations in elevation (4,721 feet). Within 50 miles also contains extreme variations in elevation (19,895 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport is covered by shrubs (37%), cropland (24%), trees (12%), and grassland (10%), within 10 miles by shrubs (28%) and trees (18%), and within 50 miles by shrubs (41%) and trees (22%).