Santiago is a large metropolis in the center of Chile, a country 4,270km long and only 356km wide at the widest point. Santiago is the capital and home to 6.3 million people.
Santiago is in Chile's central valley, bordered by the Andes immediately to the east and a maritime range immediately to the west. Santiago's highest point is at an elevation of 650m. The maritime range prevents Pacific coastal air from moving into Santiago and keeps it dry.
The arid desert climate means that temperature swings between the hot days and cold nights can be drastic. The climate is very similar to other Mediterranean locations like Madrid, Spain.
Santiago's dry season covers spring, summer, and autumn. During the months between September and April it only rains 10-20mm each month. Even in July, the wettest month in the dead of winter, it rains less than 100mm.
The best time to visit Santiago depends on what kinds of activities you want to participate in. Winters are characterized by cloudier, colder days but have fantastic skiing opportunities. For warm weather activities you can't go wrong in any of the summer months. Check flight and hotel prices for the time of year you'd prefer to visit.
Summer Weather in Santiago
The hottest month in Santiago is January. The average daytime high in Santiago in January is 30°C. The hottest day ever recorded in Santiago reached 38°C, again in January. The shoulder months of summer, November and March, have average high temperatures of 25°C and 27°C, respectively.
Constant high-pressure systems sit over the central valley during the summer months keeping rain at bay. Only trace amounts fall during these months.
Nights in Santiago are very pleasant, averaging a constant 11°C in summer months. This mild temperature combined with low humidity and clear skies make nights in Santiago particularly enjoyable. The lowest temperature ever recorded in the summer months was a chilly 1.2°C.
Summer is a wonderful season to visit Santiago. The daytime highs of 30°C aren't particularly hot, but you'll have plenty of opportunities to cool down. You can travel 90 minutes in either direction from Santiago and be at the beaches of Viña del Mar and Valparaiso, or in the cool higher elevations of El Morado and the Andes Cordillera. Ten to eleven hours of daylight will give you plenty of time for hiking, rafting, and wine tasting.
Autumn Weather in Santiago
Autumn in Santiago is short and marks the transition in temperatures, occurring around April. Rain is still insignificant but temperatures drop from around 25°C down to 20°C. Nights cool down to 7°C with a record low in April of -2.6°C.
The days become significantly shorter with less than seven hours of sunshine. Additionally, clouds start to move in though they rarely produce rain.
Autumn is still a wonderful time to visit Santiago. The many parks throughout Santiago offer up a splendid display of changing colors. Snow starts to fall in the higher elevations and ski resorts prepare for opening day.
Winter Weather in Santiago
Winters in Santiago are characterized by cloudier skies and increased rain. The average daily temperature in May is 12°C and by June & July falls to 9°C. July has the coldest temperatures in Santiago, with lows averaging 3°C. The lowest temperature ever recorded in Santiago happened in July, dropping to -6.8°C. The record high, however, made it up to 28°C.
Even though winter is considered the "rainy season" in Santiago, don't let that fool you into thinking you're going to get drenched. The wettest month of the year is in July and averages 80mm of rain over seven days.
On rare occasions it does snow in Santiago. Typically the "snow line" is at approximately 2,100m, almost 1,500m above Santiago. The last recorded snowfall in Santiago occurred in 2007 and 2017. In 2017 3.0cm of snow fell in Santiago and essentially shut the city down until it melted. This was the biggest snowfall in 46 years.
Winter is still a great time to visit Santiago for those who love to ski & snowboard. There are a few outstanding ski resorts within 50km of Santiago with a combined hundreds of runs and tens of thousands of acres. The mild temperatures make winter very bearable.
Extreme Weather
Santiago's average rainfall in July is 80mm, but this can increase eightfold in certain years. The rain cycle in Santiago is highly variable and influenced by El Niño and La Niña cycles. The heavy rains occur in the El Niño years. These massive downpours often happen between lengthy periods of extremely dry skies. As an example, in the El Niño year of 1987, only 1.7mm of rain fell in June. Then from July to mid-August 537.2mm of rain fell and caused devastating flooding.
Spring Weather in Santiago
Santiago is beautiful in spring as temperatures warm up and the city starts to turn a vibrant green.
In October the average daytime temperature climbs up to 22°C by the end of the month, while nights slowly warm up past 7°C. Record highs and lows in October were recorded at 33.3°C and -2.8°C.
The chances of precipitation level out at & below 5%, but the skies are a little slower to clear up. The return to sunny skies every single day doesn't happen until December. You'll only get an average of seven hours of sunshine per day in October, which finally reaches ten hours in December.
Spring is a great time to visit Santiago for a number of activities. Ski resorts don't close until the end of October in most years. You can ski in the mornings and go to the Pacific beaches in the afternoon, and that's truly unique. The Pacific Ocean, however, does take some time to heat up and is still 13°C in October.