Climate and Average Weather Year Round in Sierra Colorada Argentina

In Sierra Colorada, the summers are warm, dry, and mostly clear; the winters are very cold, snowy, and partly cloudy; and it is windy year round. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 31°F to 85°F and is rarely below 25°F or above 94°F.

Based on the tourism score, the best time of year to visit Sierra Colorada for warm-weather activities is from early December to early March.

The warm season lasts for 3.5 months, from November 26 to March 10, with an average daily high temperature above 77°F. The hottest month of the year in Sierra Colorada is January, with an average high of 84°F and low of 54°F.

The cold season lasts for 3.3 months, from May 17 to August 28, with an average daily high temperature below 55°F. The coldest month of the year in Sierra Colorada is July, with an average low of 31°F and high of 48°F.

In Sierra Colorada, 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 in Sierra Colorada begins around October 14 and lasts for 5.7 months, ending around April 6.

The clearest month of the year in Sierra Colorada is January, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 78% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around April 6 and lasts for 6.3 months, ending around October 14.

The cloudiest month of the year in Sierra Colorada is May, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 52% 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 in Sierra Colorada varies throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 7.6 months, from February 27 to October 16, with a greater than 9% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in Sierra Colorada is May, with an average of 3.9 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 4.4 months, from October 16 to February 27. The month with the fewest wet days in Sierra Colorada is December, with an average of 1.7 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 Sierra Colorada is May, with an average of 3.8 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 14% on May 22.

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. Sierra Colorada experiences some seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 9.2 months, from September 17 to June 24, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The month with the most rain in Sierra Colorada is February, with an average rainfall of 0.8 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 2.8 months, from June 24 to September 17. The month with the least rain in Sierra Colorada is August, with an average rainfall of 0.3 inches.

Snowfall

As with rainfall, we consider the snowfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day of the year. Sierra Colorada experiences some seasonal variation in monthly snowfall.

The snowy period of the year lasts for 1.0 months, from June 21 to July 21, with a sliding 31-day snowfall of at least 1.0 inches. The month with the most snow in Sierra Colorada is July, with an average snowfall of 1.1 inches.

The snowless period of the year lasts for 11 months, from July 21 to June 21. The least snow falls around November 17, with an average total accumulation of 0.0 inches.

The length of the day in Sierra Colorada varies significantly over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is June 20, with 9 hours, 16 minutes of daylight; the longest day is December 21, with 15 hours, 5 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 5:53 AM on December 8, and the latest sunrise is 3 hours, 2 minutes later at 8:55 AM on June 27. The earliest sunset is at 6:09 PM on June 13, and the latest sunset is 2 hours, 55 minutes later at 9:05 PM on January 4.

Daylight saving time (DST) is not observed in Sierra Colorada during 2024.

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 in Sierra Colorada, 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 in Sierra Colorada experiences mild seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 3.6 months, from October 17 to February 5, with average wind speeds of more than 13.8 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year in Sierra Colorada is December, with an average hourly wind speed of 15.0 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 8.4 months, from February 5 to October 17. The calmest month of the year in Sierra Colorada is May, with an average hourly wind speed of 12.4 miles per hour.

The predominant average hourly wind direction in Sierra Colorada is from the west throughout the year.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Sierra Colorada 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 Sierra Colorada for general outdoor tourist activities is from early December to early March, with a peak score in the third 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 Sierra Colorada for hot-weather activities is from late December to mid 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 in Sierra Colorada typically lasts for 6.7 months (202 days), from around October 7 to around April 27, rarely starting before September 16 or after November 2, and rarely ending before April 8 or after May 21.

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 Sierra Colorada should appear around September 22, only rarely appearing before September 13 or after October 2.

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 3.2 months, from November 7 to February 13, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 7.5 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Sierra Colorada is December, with an average of 8.8 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 3.9 months, from April 25 to August 20, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 3.3 kWh. The darkest month of the year in Sierra Colorada is June, with an average of 1.9 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Sierra Colorada are -40.585 deg latitude, -67.757 deg longitude, and 2,152 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Sierra Colorada contains significant variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 499 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 2,233 feet. Within 10 miles contains significant variations in elevation (1,158 feet). Within 50 miles contains very significant variations in elevation (3,809 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Sierra Colorada is covered by trees (40%), grassland (33%), shrubs (16%), and bare soil (11%), within 10 miles by trees (46%) and grassland (44%), and within 50 miles by trees (32%) and sparse vegetation (30%).