Climate in Chilecito (Argentina)

The climate of Chilecito is arid subtropical, affected by altitude, with dry, mild winters (but during which it can get cold at night), and hot, sunny summers. In addition, the climate is subject to sudden changes in temperature. The scarce rainfall occurs mostly from December to March, usually in the form of thunderstorms.
In winter, from mid-May to mid-August, the difference in temperature between night and day is often noticeable, and, night frosts are quite frequent. During outbreaks cold air from the south, the temperature can drop to -5 °C (23 °F) or below at night and can remain around 8/10 °C (46/50 °F) during the day. In July 2000, it dropped to -7.7 °C (18.1 °F).
Since winter is dry, snow is rare, however, light snowfalls may occur from time to time.
On the other hand, the wind that comes down from the mountains, called Zonda and similar to the Föhn and the Chinook, is able to raise the temperature by several degrees, it is no coincidence that the heat records exceed 30 °C (86 °F) even in winter.
In spring, starting from mid-August, the temperature rises, and despite the altitude it can get very hot. Furthermore, in summer, from December to February, there can be heat waves, during which the temperature can reach or exceed 40 °C (104 °F). The record is 44.3 °C (111.7 °F), set in December 1995.
Even in summer, however, there can be outbursts of cool air from the south, perhaps accompanied by a thunderstorm, which can greatly lower the temperature for two or three days, so much so that at night it can be very cool even in midsummer.

Chilecito is a city of 60,000 inhabitants located in northern Argentina, in the province of La Rioja, at 29 degrees south latitude, at 1,100 meters (3,600 feet) above sea level (but ​​the weather station is at 945 meters or 3,100 feet), in a valley in the eastern foothills of the Andes.
In particular, to the east, the Sierra de Velasco, in turn belonging to the Sierras Pampeanas, separates the Chilecito Valley from the city of La Rioja. Instead, about 35 km (22 mi) to the northwest, is the closest very high peak, the Nevado de Famatina (or Cerro General Belgrano), 6,115 meters (20,062 feet) high.
To the south of this mountain is the Talampaya National Park, at an altitude of about 1,500 meters (5,000 ft), which has an arid landscape although rich in biodiversity.

Chilecito - Climate data

In Chilecito, the average temperature of the coldest month (July) is of 9.8 °C, that of the warmest month (January) is of 26.4 °C. Here are the average temperatures.