page_title: Central Chile
section_title: Climate
hierarchical_section_title: Central Chile / Climate
caption_attribution_description: Español: Palmar de Ocoa (Jubaea chilensis) y Cordillera de la Costa. Parque Nacional La Campana, V Región, Chile. English: Endemic Chilean Wine Palm (Jubaea chilensis) trees in La Campana National Park, Chile. With the Cordillera de la Costa (Chilean Coast Range) in backround.
context_page_description: Central Chile is one of the five natural regions into which CORFO divided continental Chile in 1950. It is home to a majority of the Chilean population and includes the three largest metropolitan areas—Santiago, Valparaíso, and Concepción. It extends from 32° south latitude to 37° south latitude.
context_section_description: The climate is of the temperate Mediterranean type, with the amount of rainfall increasing considerably and progressively from north to south. In the Santiago area, the average monthly temperatures are about 30 °C (86 °F) in the summer months of January and February and 15 °C (59 °F) in the winter months of June and July. The average monthly precipitation is no more than a trace in January and February and 69.7 millimetres (2.74 in) in June and July. By contrast, in Concepción the average monthly temperatures are somewhat lower in the summer at 17.6 °C (63.7 °F) but higher in the winter at 9.3 °C (48.7 °F), and the amount of rain is much greater. In the summer, Concepción receives an average of twenty millimeters of rain per month; in June and July, the city is pounded by an average of 253 millimetres (10.0 in) per month. The numerous rivers greatly increase their flow as a result of the winter rains and the spring melting of the Andean snows, and they contract considerably in the summer. The combination of abundant snow in the Andes and relatively moderate winter temperatures creates excellent conditions for Alpine skiing.
  The annual mean temperature in Santiago is 57 °F (14 °C). The temperate action of the ocean prevents temperatures from dropping drastically, and if snow falls in the area it does not usually stay on the ground for more than a few hours.
  In Santiago the annual rainfall is 13 inches (330 mm) and in Valparaíso, it amounts to 15 inches (380 mm). Along the Central Valley rainfall increases gradually southward until it reaches 52 inches (1,300 mm) in Concepción.
caption: Endangered Chilean Wine Palms in La Campana National Park
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