Chile weather is characterized by a mountain climate.  There is snow on the ground throughout the year and glaciers in the higher parts.  Snow decreases from north to south as temperature decreases. Rainfall is lighter on the mountains of northern Chile, so the snowline is high, and thus precipitation is higher in the south, therefore the snow is reduced.  Due to its geography and variations in altitude, Chile weather is divided in 3 climatic regions.

Northern Chile is basically a desert, and is one of the driest regions worldwide. It is considered a 'cold-water-coast desert' because even though the area is practically rainless, the weather is usually cloudy and relatively cool for the latitude. The coastal region is very foggy and dark, with fairly low amounts of sunshine.  During summer daytime the temperatures are a bit higher.

The weather is remarkably consistent from one day to another, and thus the temperature almost never fluctuates during the day.  Furthermore, the difference in weather from summer to winter is minimal.

On the other hand, Central Chile weather is similar to the one of the Mediterranean countries.  Summers are dry and warm, while the winter months from April to September are usually mild and moderately wet with temperature fluctuations.  While frost and snow occur sometimes inland, they are rare on the coast.  On the coast the daily hours of sunshine average from 2 to 3 in winter to 8 to 9 during summer.  As it is less cloudy inland, the average hours of sunlight during the day are a bit more.

Southern Chile weather, the third climatic region, is very wet and cloudy throughout the year.  The weather in this area is frequently variable with extreme temperature fluctuations.   Annual precipitation is 2,500-5,000 mm and most of it occurs in snow on the higher mountains.  Along the coast the summers are usually cool and cloudy and the winters are normally mildly cold. 

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