Every August 30th, the day of Santa Rosa de Lima is celebrated, and, according to popular belief, around this date one should expect an intense storm..
But that “around” is not fixed, and depending on the believer’s convenience, it can be a storm that occurs about 3 or 4 days. around August 30th or about 15 days before and after that date.
The truth is that since this limit is not entirely clear, any storm Between August and September it could be “Santa Rosa”.
Parameters
For this reason, since the National Meteorological Service set some parameters to analyze the frequency of this popular phenomenon. However, it is necessary to clarify some concepts.
According to the meteorological glossary of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), for there to be a storm there must be electrical activity. A shower, without the presence of sudden discharges of atmospheric electricity accompanied by a flash (lightning) and a noise (thunder), does not classify as a storm.
In addition, the storms are associated with clouds called convective (cumulonimbus) which, generally, generate intense rainfall in the form of a shower of rain or, occasionally, snow or hail, as well as strong winds.
A matter of region, conditions and time
The Santa Rosa storm is a type of weather phenomenon that can include heavy rain, strong winds, and sometimes thunderstorms.. It usually generates large accumulations of water in short periods of time, which can lead to flooding and other associated problems. Its intensity and impact vary depending on the specific atmospheric conditions and the affected region.
In regions like Patagonia, it is not common to have the storm formation, so the frequency of Santa Rosa is very lowSomething similar occurs in the Argentine Northwest (NOA), where the season is marked by the dry season and Clear and sunny days predominate.
Where the generation of is frequent Storms at this time are in central and northeastern Argentina. From mid to late August, the atmosphere is subject to changes in its circulation due to the proximity of spring, which favors the presence of warm air, more humidity and favorable conditions for its development. However, although popularly The Santa Rosa storm is expected to be stronger than any other, there is no evidence that this will always be the case.
Statistics: numbers that speak
To prepare these statistics, the information from the Buenos Aires Central Observatory (OCBA) was taken as a reference, which has a database of more than 100 years and is located within the region of our country where storms are not atypical. The following were considered: Data from August 25 to September 4 (5 days before and after Santa Rosa) from 1906 to 2021.
Then, the number of consecutive days with storms and the accumulated rainfall were recorded for each year. In case more than one storm event is recorded in the 10 days consideredonly the one that resulted in the greatest amount of rainfall was counted.
The result of the analysis showed that, In the 116 years of records, storms occurred on those dates on 65 occasions (56% of cases).although they were not always associated with intense and/or abundant rainfall.
Why is it called the Santa Rosa storm?
The legend dates back to Lima in 1615, when the prayers of the Christian mystic Isabel Flores de Olivawould have caused a strong storm that prevented Dutch pirates who had already raided the neighboring port of Callao from attacking the Peruvian city.
This belief gained great popularity in Uruguay and Argentina.especially in the area of the Río de la Plata, Córdoba and Cuyo. The capital of La Pampa even bears his name.
Is Santa Rosa coming this 2024?
Forecasts indicate that, apparently in 2024, the Santa Rosa storm would be absent in the area and would not be added to the statistics as a new edition of the intense phenomenon.. While experts hope to get closer to the period to provide greater precision on meteorological data, forecasts are still medium term, do not show intense phenomena until the end of the month and neither, in the first days of September, was Elonce able to learn. According to the SMN, At least until Thursday of next week, there will be good weather in the area. Anyway, We will have to wait at least until next week to provide the details of the National Meteorological Service..
