Hats and gloves come out as coldest May since 1950 grips Chile’s capital region

Straphangers at bus stops clutch steaming coffees and huddle for warmth. On the horizon, views of the Andes are as spectacular as ever, their snow-capped peaks gleaming extra bright after an early season storm

Bundled-up mannequins stand in the storefronts on the main shopping avenues off Santiago’s central Plaza de Armas. Straphangers at bus stops clutch steaming coffees and huddle for warmth. On the horizon, views of the Andes are as spectacular as ever, their snow-capped peaks gleaming extra bright after an early-season storm. Santiago is under a record freeze. After an eight-day “cold wave” pushed through the capital region this week, the average temperature for May dropped to 37 degrees Fahrenheit (2 degrees Celsius) – the coldest since 1950, according to Angélica Guzáman, a meteorologist with the Chilean Meteorologic Directorate. Thursday marked the coldest day of the year so far, with one weather station notching a frosty 30 degrees. “You have to go out dressed in double layers,” said Rosita Moya, a publicist who spoke with CNN on a frigid Friday morning, the fur-lined hood of her parka turned up. “I had to go searching for my hat.” Chileans are used to the cold, but not this early in the year. A typical May in Santiago reaches a balmy high of 64 degrees, dipping down to 43 degrees at night. The brunt of the winter arrives in July, when the average low is down to 37 degrees. A mass of cold air that will last through the weekend is behind the strange forecast, Guzáman said, with below-average temperatures expected to continue.