Concept in Definition ABC
Miscellanea / / July 04, 2021
By Florencia Ucha, in Sep. 2012
The sudestada is a climatic phenomenon inherent and exclusive of the so-called Rio de la Plata Region, for example, it affects the countries that surround it: Argentina and Uruguay, and which is characterized by very violent cold winds, and that is mixed with humidity and intense rains, which in most of the times culminate with floods in the areas surrounding the river due to the shocking flood that this suffers. River.
Meteorological phenomenon typical of the Río de la Plata region and characterized by strong winds, humidity, heavy rains and the overflowing of the river
As a consequence that the wind is usually maintained for several consecutive days over the Rio de la Plata is that the direction of the wind that coincides with that of the river prevents its natural drainage.
Also, the swell is intense, and by case is that this makes it difficult to navigate, whether for sports, commercial or tourist purposes.
A weather condition that makes crossing the river dangerous
The days of sudestada is really dangerous and it is not recommended to navigate it because it can happen serious accidents as a consequence of factors exposed lines above.
The transit between Uruguay and Argentina through the Río de la Plata is always intense due to commercial and trade issues. tourism, but it is important to say and warn that this journey, on days when a sudestate is taking place, is not carried out, the trip is suspended until the meteorological phenomenon subsides its virulence.
The sudestada is characterized by a very strong type of wind, characteristic of the Río de la Plata area and that precisely drives the mentioned river from the southeast side and towards the coast from the city of Buenos Aires.
The Río de la Plata is a river, and also a mouth, in the southern cone area of America, made up of the union of the Paraná and Uruguay rivers.
It has a triangular shape of about 320 kilometers long, which also serve as border between the neighboring countries of Argentina and Uruguay.
It is considered the widest river in the world, with its width of 219 kilometers.
Main characteristics and accompanying phenomena
Generally, the sudestada usually manifests accompanied by heavy rains.
Also, because of the very strong and constant wind, on the one hand, the normal drainage of the river becomes complex, and on the other hand, the action of the Waves take over the river, directly causing an increase in its level, on the Argentine coast, which can exceed the limits and give rise to flooding in the areas bordering the coast, such as the delta del Tigre, the neighborhood of La Boca, the town of Quilmes, among other.
This type of meteorological phenomenon is easy to appreciate since it triggers an untimely rotation of the cold wind from the south towards the southeast and ends up filling the mass of air polar with the oceanic moisture it carries.
Thus, the very intense cold wind approaches the areas near the Rio de la Plata continuing the direction of the river and going, as we said, in a constant direction, and for the span of several days, from the southeast to the northwest.
Another salient feature of this storm is that temperatures drop sharply, which it also triggers precipitation that can range from moderate drizzle to really rain intense.
Although there is no date calendar in which it occurs without fail, and can then happen at any time of the year, if it is recurrent its appearance between April and December, with the period from July to October being the most likely and the most intense.
Generally, the sudestada ends when the wind rotates to the southwest and is replaced by another type of wind characteristic of the area such as the Pampero, a wind also intense and very cold, but dry, which dislodges the humidity and the cloudiness that accumulated in the days of the south and this helps notably in the drainage of the Rio de la Silver.
The Pampero comes from Antarctica itself, and for example, it is a purely polar air mass that blows from the south or southwest of Argentina, passing through the Pampas region, and from there it continues on its way to Uruguay, Brazil and Bolivia.
Topics in Sudestada