Why is southern Chile cold, wet, and windy?

Southern Chile is characterized by a cold, wet, and windy climate primarily because it lies outside the influence of the subtropical high-pressure systems that stabilize the weather in northern and central Chile. Instead, the region is dominated by the following factors:1

• Polar Front and Cyclonic Depressions: The southern segments of the country are under the constant influence of the polar front and frequent cyclonic depressions, which bring unstable, stormy weather.12
• Westerlies: The region is battered by powerful, permanently blowing westerlies. Because of the vast expanse of ocean in the Southern Hemisphere, these winds face little resistance, allowing them to reach their maximum intensity—particularly around Cape Horn—where they bring cold oceanic air masses and heavy precipitation to the Pacific coast.23
• Orographic Precipitation: As these moisture-laden westerlies rise over the Andes Mountains, they release significant amounts of orographic precipitation, leading to some of the highest annual rainfall totals recorded in any nontropical region.13