Climate and Average Weather Year Round in Puerto Natales ChileIn Puerto Natales, the summers are cool and mostly cloudy, the winters are very cold and partly cloudy, and it is windy year round. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 33°F to 61°F and is rarely below 25°F or above 68°F. Based on the tourism score, the best time of year to visit Puerto Natales for warm-weather activities is from late December to late February. Average Temperature in Puerto NatalesThe warm season lasts for 3.7 months, from November 24 to March 16, with an average daily high temperature above 57°F. The hottest month of the year in Puerto Natales is January, with an average high of 60°F and low of 49°F. The cool season lasts for 3.1 months, from May 18 to August 21, with an average daily high temperature below 45°F. The coldest month of the year in Puerto Natales is July, with an average low of 34°F and high of 41°F.
The figure below shows you a compact characterization of the entire year of hourly average temperatures. The horizontal axis is the day of the year, the vertical axis is the hour of the day, and the color is the average temperature for that hour and day. Spean Bridge, United Kingdom (8,432 miles away) is the far-away foreign place with temperatures most similar to Puerto Natales (view comparison). Clouds
The clearest month of the year in Puerto Natales is September, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 43% of the time.
The cloudiest month of the year in Puerto Natales is June, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 64% of the time.
PrecipitationA wet day is one with at least 0.04 inches of liquid or liquid-equivalent precipitation. The chance of wet days in Puerto Natales varies throughout the year. The wetter season lasts 6.0 months, from November 20 to May 20, with a greater than 34% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in Puerto Natales is January, with an average of 12.4 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation. The drier season lasts 6.0 months, from May 20 to November 20. The month with the fewest wet days in Puerto Natales is September, with an average of 8.2 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 in Puerto Natales is January, with an average of 12.4 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 42% on December 26.
RainfallTo 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. Puerto Natales experiences some seasonal variation in monthly rainfall. Rain falls throughout the year in Puerto Natales. The month with the most rain in Puerto Natales is March, with an average rainfall of 2.2 inches. The month with the least rain in Puerto Natales is September, with an average rainfall of 1.3 inches.
SunThe length of the day in Puerto Natales varies extremely over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is June 20, with 7 hours, 47 minutes of daylight; the longest day is December 21, with 16 hours, 41 minutes of daylight.
The earliest sunrise is at 5:25 AM on December 13, and the latest sunrise is 3 hours, 33 minutes later at 8:58 AM on June 25. The earliest sunset is at 4:44 PM on June 16, and the latest sunset is 5 hours, 26 minutes later at 10:10 PM on December 29. Daylight saving time (DST) is observed in Puerto Natales 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 the sun's elevation (the angle of the sun above the horizon) and azimuth (its compass bearing) for every hour of every day in the reporting period. The horizontal axis is the day of the year and the vertical axis is the hour of the day. For a given day and hour of that day, the background color indicates the azimuth of the sun at that moment. The black isolines are contours of constant solar elevation. MoonThe 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. HumidityWe 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 in Puerto Natales, 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.
WindThis 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 in Puerto Natales experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year. The windier part of the year lasts for 5.6 months, from October 4 to March 22, with average wind speeds of more than 13.9 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year in Puerto Natales is November, with an average hourly wind speed of 16.5 miles per hour. The calmer time of year lasts for 6.4 months, from March 22 to October 4. The calmest month of the year in Puerto Natales is June, with an average hourly wind speed of 11.3 miles per hour.
The predominant average hourly wind direction in Puerto Natales is from the west throughout the year. Water TemperaturePuerto Natales 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 December 30 to March 25, with an average temperature above 50°F. The month of the year in Puerto Natales with the warmest water is February, with an average temperature of 51°F. The time of year with cooler water lasts for 3.8 months, from June 12 to October 6, with an average temperature below 44°F. The month of the year in Puerto Natales with the coolest water is August, with an average temperature of 42°F.
Best Time of Year to VisitTo characterize how pleasant the weather is in Puerto Natales 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 Puerto Natales for general outdoor tourist activities is from late December to late February, with a peak score in the second week of January. Tourism Score in Puerto NatalesThe 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 Puerto Natales for hot-weather activities is from late January to early February. Beach/Pool Score in Puerto NatalesMethodologyFor 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. Growing SeasonDefinitions 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 in Puerto Natales typically lasts for 8.1 months (246 days), from around September 9 to around May 13, rarely starting before August 6 or after October 31, and rarely ending before April 11 or after June 10. 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 in Puerto Natales should appear around November 24, only rarely appearing before November 11 or after December 10. Solar EnergyThis 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 3.4 months, from October 31 to February 10, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 4.8 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Puerto Natales is December, with an average of 5.8 kWh. The darker period of the year lasts for 4.1 months, from April 18 to August 22, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 1.7 kWh. The darkest month of the year in Puerto Natales is June, with an average of 0.6 kWh.
TopographyFor the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Puerto Natales are -51.724 deg latitude, -72.487 deg longitude, and 92 ft elevation. The topography within 2 miles of Puerto Natales contains only modest variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 430 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 129 feet. Within 10 miles contains only modest variations in elevation (3,048 feet). Within 50 miles contains large variations in elevation (7,254 feet). The area within 2 miles of Puerto Natales is covered by water (34%), shrubs (31%), trees (19%), and grassland (17%), within 10 miles by trees (41%) and water (30%), and within 50 miles by trees (31%) and shrubs (29%). Data SourcesThis report illustrates the typical weather in Puerto Natales, based on a statistical analysis of historical hourly weather reports and model reconstructions from January 1, 1980 to December 31, 2016. Temperature and Dew PointThere is only a single weather station, Lago Argentino Aerodrome, in our network suitable to be used as a proxy for the historical temperature and dew point records of Puerto Natales. At a distance of 155 kilometers from Puerto Natales, further than our threshold of 150 kilometers, this station is deemed insufficiently nearby to be relied upon as our primary source for temperature and dew point records. Consequently, the station records are blended with interpolated values from NASA's MERRA-2 satellite-era reanalysis , and both are corrected for elevation differences according to the International Standard Atmosphere . The weight assigned to the MERRA-2 value depends on the distance from Puerto Natales to the nearest station, increasing from 0% at 150 kilometers to 100% at 200 kilometers. In this case, the MERRA-2 weight is 10%, making the weight assigned to the weather station 90%. Other DataAll data relating to the Sun's position (e.g., sunrise and sunset) are computed using astronomical formulas from the book, Astronomical Algorithms 2nd Edition , by Jean Meeus. All other weather data, including cloud cover, precipitation, wind speed and direction, and solar flux, come from NASA's MERRA-2 Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis . This reanalysis combines a variety of wide-area measurements in a state-of-the-art global meteorological model to reconstruct the hourly history of weather throughout the world on a 50-kilometer grid. Land Use data comes from the Global Land Cover SHARE database , published by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Elevation data comes from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) , published by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Names, locations, and time zones of places and some airports come from the GeoNames Geographical Database . Time zones for airports and weather stations are provided by AskGeo.com . Maps are © OpenStreetMap contributors. DisclaimerThe information on this site is provided as is, without any assurances as to its accuracy or suitability for any purpose. Weather data is prone to errors, outages, and other defects. We assume no responsibility for any decisions made on the basis of the content presented on this site. We draw particular cautious attention to our reliance on the MERRA-2 model-based reconstructions for a number of important data series. While having the tremendous advantages of temporal and spatial completeness, these reconstructions: (1) are based on computer models that may have model-based errors, (2) are coarsely sampled on a 50 km grid and are therefore unable to reconstruct the local variations of many microclimates, and (3) have particular difficulty with the weather in some coastal areas, especially small islands. We further caution that our travel scores are only as good as the data that underpin them, that weather conditions at any given location and time are unpredictable and variable, and that the definition of the scores reflects a particular set of preferences that may not agree with those of any particular reader. Please review our full terms contained on our Terms of Service page. |