Chile - weather in March

March in Chile is still a summer month in the north, which is crossed by the Tropic of Capricorn, while in the central-south it is the first month of autumn.

North

In the northern part of the coast, where we find the Atacama desert (see Arica, Iquique, Antofagasta), temperatures are pleasantly warm, with a daily average ranging from 19.5 to 22.5 °C (67 to 72.5 °C), the sky is usually clear (although mists and low clouds may form in the morning) and it never rains. The ocean in the northernmost part is still warm enough for swimming.
In the inland areas of the north, occupied by a plateau and by the Andes (see Calama, San Pedro de Atacama), it's always sunny. The diurnal temperature range is very wide, and even though it is the warmest time of the year, it gets cold at night, and at the highest altitudes, above 3,000 metres (9,800 feet), the temperature can drop below freezing.

Center

In the central part of the coast (see Valparaiso, Viña del Mar), good weather prevails as well, but the temperature is quite cool (the daily average is around 17 °C or 62.5 °F), and the sea is also cold. In Santiago, in the inland areas of the center, the daily average is 20 °C (68 °F), but the temperature range is high, so nights are cool, while it can still get very hot during the day.

South

In the south the temperature is progressively cooler: the daily average ranges from 14.5 °C (58 °F) in Valdivia to 9.5 °C (49 °F) in Punta Arenas. Furthermore, while in March it never rains in the north, and it rarely rains in the center, in the south the rains are quite frequent. Actually, in the area of the southern fjords, west of the Andes, the rains are frequent and abundant also in this period.
In the southern part of the Andes, which unlike the northern part is verdant, at the same altitude the temperature is much lower, so much so that there are glaciers at fairly low altitudes.

As happens all over the world in the equinox months, the day and the night last approximately 12 hours everywhere.

The following tables show the climate averages in the month of March in Chile in a selection of locations.

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Monthly climate averages - March

(from north to south)




















See also: Chile, the weather in February - April
The climate of Chile