Sudestada (''Southeast blow'') is the

Argentinian Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or ( feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, ...

name for a climatic phenomenon common to the

Río de la Plata The Río de la Plata (, "river of silver"), also called the River Plate or La Plata River in English, is the estuary formed by the confluence of the Uruguay River and the Paraná River at Punta Gorda. It empties into the Atlantic Ocean and fo ...

(an

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environm ...

formed by the combination of the

Uruguay River The Uruguay River ( es, Río Uruguay, ; pt, Rio Uruguai, ) is a major river in South America. It flows from north to south and forms parts of the boundaries of Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay, separating some of the Argentine provinces of La M ...

and the

Paraná River The Paraná River ( es, Río Paraná, links=no , pt, Rio Paraná, gn, Ysyry Parana) is a river in south-central South America, running through Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina for some ."Parana River". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Br ...

on the southeastern coastline of

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sou ...

) and its surrounding region. The phenomenon consists of a sudden rotation of cold southern winds to the south-east. This change, while moderating the cold temperatures, loads the air masses with oceanic humidity, bringing heavy rain and rough seas in the coastal regions. The air circulation also increases the intensity of the winds. The ''Sudestada'' is most likely to happen between July and October.

Types and causes of sudestada

A sudestada may take place with or (less commonly) without precipitation. The latter is caused by a high pressure system, centered on the southwest of

Buenos Aires Province Buenos Aires (), officially the Buenos Aires Province (''Provincia de Buenos Aires'' ), is the largest and most populous Argentine province. It takes its name from the city of Buenos Aires, the capital of the country, which used to be part of th ...

in Argentina, bringing persistent winds to the mouth of the Río de la Plata. A sudestada with rain, on the other hand, is generated by the combined effect of two systems: a high pressure one located on the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of central Patagonia, which brings cold sea air to the east of Buenos Aires Province and the south of the Argentine littoral and

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

, and a low pressure system, located over the center-south of Argentine Mesopotamia and western Uruguay, which brings hot, humid air to the same region. As the pressure in the latter system drops, winds from the southeast increase.

References

Sudestada
Atmospheric dynamics Climate of Argentina Climate of Uruguay Spanish words and phrases Winds {{Uruguay-stub

Types and causes of sudestada

See also

References