World's driest desert hit by snow, rain

[Judi Lynn]

World's driest desert hit by snow, rain
Chile's Atacama was hit by four years' worth of rain in one day in July

By EVA VERGARA

updated 8/2/2011 4:52:56 AM ET 2011-08-02T08:52:56

Font: +-SANTIAGO, Chile — This has been the wettest winter in decades for Chile's arid northern desert, where fractions of an inch of rain have done major damage in some areas and set the stage for spectacular floral displays in the weeks to come.

July came and went with major storms that together dumped more than five times the annual average of rain and snow on parts of the world's driest desert.

The past weekend's precipitation blocked highways, forced the cancellation of a top Chilean football match and damaged the homes of 1,800 people, said Vicente Nunez, chief of the Interior Ministry's national emergency office.

A similarly wet stretch in early July dumped four years' worth of rain in one day on coastal Antofogasta.

That was just a quarter of an inch but it was still enough to cause collapsed or leaking roofs in homes and businesses that usually have no reason to protect themselves against even minimal precipitation.

More:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43982706/ns/weather/

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