Balmaceda is a Chilean village (Spanish: aldea) located south east of Coyhaique in Aysén Region. Balmaceda has around 500 inhabitants, and has Aysén Region's largest airport and meteorological station, Balmaceda Airport.
History
The first settlers arrived into the zone in the early-20th century after being expelled from Argentina since the borders between Chile and Argentina were drawn in 1902. In 1917 Balmaceda was officially founded and was named after the Chilean president José Manuel Balmaceda. Balmaceda was initially one of the largest inland Chilean settlements in what is now the Aysén Region.
Transport
Balmaceda is linked to Route 40, in Argentina, via a 102 km gravel extension road (not pavement - May/2019 info).
Climate
The climate of Balmaceda is an unusual combination of the dry-summer Mediterranean characteristic more typical of Central Chile with the subpolar oceanic characteristics more typical of southern Chile. It has the warm-summer Mediterranean climate, bordering the extremely rare cold-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen Csb, bordeline Csc), with short, though dry summers, and long, snowy though not severe winters. Precipitation, however, is markedly lower than on the coast of Chile owing to the rain shadow of the Andes, being about one-sixth to one-seventh what is received on the coast at the same latitude. Snow is very common during the winter but rarely stays on the ground.[3]
| Climate data for Balmaceda (1991–2020, extremes 1952–present) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 33.2 (91.8) |
35.3 (95.5) |
32.0 (89.6) |
24.4 (75.9) |
18.3 (64.9) |
17.2 (63.0) |
14.5 (58.1) |
15.1 (59.2) |
22.7 (72.9) |
27.8 (82.0) |
30.0 (86.0) |
32.0 (89.6) |
35.3 (95.5) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 18.4 (65.1) |
19.0 (66.2) |
16.3 (61.3) |
12.5 (54.5) |
8.2 (46.8) |
4.6 (40.3) |
4.3 (39.7) |
6.9 (44.4) |
10.2 (50.4) |
12.8 (55.0) |
14.9 (58.8) |
16.9 (62.4) |
12.1 (53.8) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 12.6 (54.7) |
12.6 (54.7) |
10.4 (50.7) |
7.4 (45.3) |
4.2 (39.6) |
1.4 (34.5) |
0.8 (33.4) |
2.8 (37.0) |
5.2 (41.4) |
7.4 (45.3) |
9.4 (48.9) |
11.4 (52.5) |
7.1 (44.8) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 6.9 (44.4) |
6.1 (43.0) |
4.5 (40.1) |
2.2 (36.0) |
0.3 (32.5) |
−1.9 (28.6) |
−2.7 (27.1) |
−1.2 (29.8) |
0.3 (32.5) |
1.9 (35.4) |
4.0 (39.2) |
5.9 (42.6) |
2.2 (36.0) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −5.9 (21.4) |
−7.2 (19.0) |
−10.3 (13.5) |
−14.6 (5.7) |
−17.3 (0.9) |
−28.3 (−18.9) |
−25.2 (−13.4) |
−20.1 (−4.2) |
−15.8 (3.6) |
−11.6 (11.1) |
−7.7 (18.1) |
−6.0 (21.2) |
−28.3 (−18.9) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 23.4 (0.92) |
21.1 (0.83) |
38.6 (1.52) |
49.7 (1.96) |
69.5 (2.74) |
79.6 (3.13) |
65.2 (2.57) |
55.7 (2.19) |
31.5 (1.24) |
34.3 (1.35) |
30.2 (1.19) |
24.5 (0.96) |
523.3 (20.60) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) | 4.2 | 4.1 | 5.5 | 7.2 | 9.4 | 10.1 | 8.2 | 8.4 | 6.2 | 5.2 | 5.0 | 4.2 | 77.8 |
| Average relative humidity (%) | 72 | 74 | 77 | 82 | 86 | 87 | 86 | 83 | 79 | 75 | 72 | 72 | 79 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 303 | 266 | 236 | 156 | 117 | 94 | 114 | 161 | 203 | 291 | 292 | 310 | 2,543 |
| Source 1: Dirección Meteorológica de Chile (humidity, 1970–2000)[4][5][6] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: NOAA (precipitation days 1991–2020),[7] Deutscher Wetterdienst (sun, 1961–1990)[8][a] | |||||||||||||
Notes
- ^ Station ID for Balmaceda is 85874 Use this station ID to locate the sunshine duration
References
- ^ "Balmaceda, Chile". geonames.org. Archived from the original on 30 November 2016. Retrieved 30 November 2016.
- ^ "DEMOGRAFICAS Y VITALES". Archived from the original on 2017-05-28. Retrieved 2008-05-22.
- ^ "Balmaceda Airport Snow depths". Archived from the original on 2016-05-13. Retrieved 2011-12-07.
- ^ "Datos Normales y Promedios Históricos Promedios de 30 años o menos" (in Spanish). Dirección Meteorológica de Chile. Archived from the original on 30 May 2023. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
- ^ "Estadistica Climatologica Tomo III (pg 319-343)" (PDF) (in Spanish). Dirección General de Aeronáutica Civil. March 2001. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 17, 2012. Retrieved January 15, 2013.
- ^ "Temperatura Mensual Histórica de la Estación Balmaceda Ad. (450005)" (in Spanish). Dirección Meteorológica de Chile. Archived from the original on 30 May 2023. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
- ^ "Ba;maceda Climate Normals 1991–2020". World Meteorological Organization Climatological Standard Normals (1991–2020). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Archived from the original on 4 August 2023. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
- ^ "Station 85874: Balmaceda". Global station data 1961–1990—Sunshine Duration. Deutscher Wetterdienst. Archived from the original on 2017-10-17. Retrieved 9 July 2015.