Punta Arenas - Cloudscapes - Patagonia
Multi-layered dramatic clouds for striking sky photography
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When all conditions match, PhotoWeather marks an opportunity window.
What this forecast looks for
Plain-language explanation from the ruleThis forecast tracks the dramatic cloud formations that make Patagonia one of Earth's premier cloudscape photography destinations. We monitor wind patterns, mountain wave activity, and atmospheric conditions to predict when lenticular clouds will cap the peaks and windswept formations will create visual drama.
Patagonia sits in the path of the Roaring Forties—relentless westerly winds that sweep across the Southern Ocean. When these winds encounter the Andes, they create spectacular lenticular clouds that hover over peaks like UFO motherships. The region's changeable weather means cloud formations can evolve rapidly, creating ever-changing compositions.
What makes Patagonian cloudscapes exceptional:
- Lenticular clouds - Lens-shaped clouds form over Torres, Fitzroy, and Cerro Torre when conditions align
- Wind-driven drama - Horizontal cloud formations streak across the sky, showing wind's incredible force
- Rapid changes - Weather can shift from clear to overcast to dramatic in hours, creating diverse shooting opportunities
- Mountain wave clouds - The Andes generate standing wave clouds visible for hundreds of kilometers
Best cloudscapes occur during transitional weather when winds are strong but visibility remains good. Spring (September-November) and autumn (March-May) bring the most varied conditions. The famous "Patagonian flag" clouds—horizontal streamers flowing from peaks—occur during high wind events. Don't dismiss bad weather forecasts entirely; some of Patagonia's most dramatic images happen during marginal conditions.
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72-hour requirements breakdown
What passed or failed, hour by hourTime America/Punta_Arenas | Cloud Drama Score ≥ 75.0% | Low Clouds ≥ 20.0% | Mid-Level Clouds OR1·B1≥ 30.0% | High Clouds OR1·B2≥ 40.0% | Visibility ≥ 5000.0m |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat, Feb 21 | |||||
| 16:00 | 32% | 88% | 2.9% | 5.2% | 24135m |
| 17:00 | 39% | 100% | 4.8% | 5% | 24134m |
| 18:00 | 39% | 100% | 4.9% | 5% | 24135m |
| 19:00 | 47% | 98% | 5% | 5% | 24135m |
| 20:00 | 56% | 98% | 0.1% | 96% | 24135m |
| 21:00 | 75% | 100% | 0.2% | 13% | 24135m |
| 22:00 | 62% | 100% | 15% | 5% | 16027m |
| 23:00 | 7.5% | 100% | 4.3% | 5% | 11522m |
| Sun, Feb 22 | |||||
| 24:00 | 11% | 95% | 1% | 5% | 24135m |
| 01:00 | 13% | 100% | 3.5% | 5% | 24134m |
| 02:00 | 15% | 100% | 0% | 5% | 24135m |
| 03:00 | 15% | 30% | 0% | 5.1% | 24134m |
| 04:00 | 15% | 6.7% | 0% | 5% | 24134m |
| 05:00 | 13% | 32% | 0% | 5% | 24134m |
| 06:00 | 50% | 88% | 0% | 5% | 24135m |
| 07:00 | 70% | 71% | 0% | 2.5% | 24135m |
| 08:00 | 79% | 77% | 1% | 5% | 24135m |
| 09:00 | 81% | 65% | 0.1% | 5% | 24134m |
| 10:00 | 45% | 96% | 4.8% | 5% | 23422m |
| 11:00 | 46% | 87% | 5% | 5% | 24135m |
| 12:00 | 48% | 90% | 5% | 49% | 24135m |
| 13:00 | 52% | 90% | 40% | 77% | 24135m |
| 14:00 | 59% | 98% | 42% | 41% | 24135m |
| 15:00 | 48% | 62% | 88% | 99% | 24135m |
| 16:00 | 45% | 92% | 95% | 96% | 24134m |
| 17:00 | 60% | 49% | 81% | 88% | 24134m |
| 18:00 | 51% | 99% | 100% | 95% | 24135m |
| 19:00 | 62% | 97% | 100% | 100% | 24135m |
| 20:00 | 70% | 84% | 100% | 100% | 24135m |
| 21:00 | 60% | 8.7% | 100% | 100% | 24135m |
| 22:00 | 52% | 6.8% | 100% | 100% | 24135m |
| 23:00 | 0% | 8.4% | 100% | 100% | 24135m |
| Mon, Feb 23 | |||||
| 24:00 | 0% | 93% | 100% | 100% | 24135m |
| 01:00 | 0% | 91% | 100% | 100% | 24134m |
| 02:00 | 0% | 76% | 100% | 100% | 24135m |
| 03:00 | 1.4% | 25% | 100% | 100% | 24134m |
| 04:00 | 5.5% | 19% | 100% | 99% | 24135m |
| 05:00 | 2% | 31% | 100% | 96% | 24134m |
| 06:00 | 62% | 24% | 100% | 100% | 24135m |
| 07:00 | 70% | 13% | 93% | 100% | 24134m |
| 08:00 | 72% | 31% | 100% | 100% | 24134m |
| 09:00 | 67% | 38% | 100% | 95% | 24135m |
| 10:00 | 54% | 46% | 100% | 100% | 24134m |
| 11:00 | 51% | 85% | 100% | 76% | 23750m |
| 12:00 | 40% | 100% | 100% | 9.8% | 20134m |
| 13:00 | 41% | 99% | 100% | 100% | 24134m |
| 14:00 | 44% | 100% | 100% | 83% | 24134m |
| 15:00 | 40% | 97% | 100% | 88% | 24134m |
| 16:00 | 57% | 90% | 100% | 2.2% | 24135m |
| 17:00 | 25% | 2.3% | 4.1% | 0% | 24135m |
| 18:00 | 26% | 2.7% | 0% | 0% | 24135m |
| 19:00 | 20% | 4.8% | 0% | 0% | 24135m |
| 20:00 | 18% | 5% | 0% | 0% | 24134m |
| 21:00 | 31% | 5% | 2.8% | 5% | 24135m |
| 22:00 | 18% | 5% | 0.9% | 0% | 24134m |
| 23:00 | 8.3% | 5% | 0.5% | 5% | 24135m |
| Tue, Feb 24 | |||||
| 24:00 | 15% | 4.8% | 2.8% | 50% | 24135m |
| 01:00 | 15% | 4.7% | 5.4% | 69% | 24135m |
| 02:00 | 15% | 4.8% | 59% | 20% | 24135m |
| 03:00 | 15% | 6.3% | 99% | 99% | 24135m |
| 04:00 | 11% | 5% | 100% | 100% | 24134m |
| 05:00 | 3.6% | 9.2% | 100% | 100% | 24134m |
| 06:00 | 62% | 12% | 100% | 100% | 24135m |
| 07:00 | 81% | 34% | 88% | 5% | 24135m |
| 08:00 | 100% | 69% | 56% | 5% | 24134m |
| 09:00 | 83% | 56% | 6.4% | 5% | 24135m |
| 10:00 | 92% | 33% | 14% | 5% | 24134m |
| 11:00 | 70% | 91% | 30% | 5% | 24135m |
| 12:00 | 75% | 70% | 35% | 5% | 24135m |
| 13:00 | 76% | 60% | 54% | 5% | 24134m |
| 14:00 | 70% | 76% | 7.8% | 22% | 24135m |
| 15:00 | 59% | 81% | 5% | 38% | 24135m |
| 16:00 | 42% | 87% | 5% | 5% | 24134m |
| 17:00 | 51% | 85% | 2.9% | 6.5% | 24134m |
| 18:00 | 54% | 81% | 0.8% | 5% | 24134m |
| 19:00 | 61% | 71% | 4.7% | 5% | 24134m |
| 20:00 | 71% | 44% | 5% | 5% | 24134m |
| 21:00 | 68% | 42% | 5% | 5% | 24135m |
| 22:00 | 78% | 28% | 3.3% | 25% | 24135m |
| 23:00 | 0% | 14% | 1.7% | 45% | 24135m |
| Wed, Feb 25 | |||||
| 24:00 | 0% | 0% | 0% | 65% | 24135m |
| 01:00 | 0% | 0% | 0% | 50% | 24135m |
| 02:00 | 0% | 0% | 0% | 35% | 24135m |
| 03:00 | 0% | 0% | 0% | 20% | 24135m |
| 04:00 | 0% | 0% | 0% | 24% | 24135m |
| 05:00 | 0% | 0% | 0% | 28% | 24135m |
| 06:00 | 58% | 0% | 0% | 32% | 24135m |
| 07:00 | 57% | 0% | 1.7% | 55% | 24135m |
| 08:00 | 39% | 0% | 3.3% | 77% | 24135m |
| 09:00 | 14% | 0% | 5% | 100% | 24135m |
| 10:00 | 39% | 0% | 20% | 90% | 24135m |
| 11:00 | 61% | 0% | 35% | 79% | 24135m |
| 12:00 | 64% | 0% | 51% | 69% | 24135m |
| 13:00 | 50% | 8.9% | 52% | 79% | 24135m |
| 14:00 | 38% | 18% | 53% | 90% | 24135m |
What does Cloud Drama Score mean?
Inputs that drive the scoreThis derived score summarizes multiple raw weather signals. The table below shows the supporting inputs hour by hour, so you can see what's pushing the score up or down.
| Time America/Punta_Arenas | Air Pressure hPa | High Clouds % | Mid-Level Clouds % | Precipitation Chance % | Relative Humidity % | Solar Elevation ° | Total Cloud Coverage % | Wind Gusts m/s | Wind Speed m/s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun, Feb 22
Sunrise 06:56
Sunset 20:56 | |||||||||
| 16:00 | 983hPa | 96% | 95% | 30% | 51% | 40° | 96% | 12m/s | 6.7m/s |
| 17:00 | 982hPa | 88% | 81% | 22% | 56% | 33° | 88% | 18m/s | 7.6m/s |
| 18:00 | 981hPa | 94% | 100% | 13% | 58% | 25° | 100% | 16m/s | 7.4m/s |
| 19:00 | 980hPa | 100% | 100% | 27% | 61% | 17° | 100% | 16m/s | 7.1m/s |
| 20:00 | 980hPa | 100% | 100% | 42% | 65% | 7.6° | 100% | 16m/s | 7.6m/s |
| 21:00 ☾ | 979hPa | 100% | 100% | 56% | 69% | -1° | 100% | 17m/s | 8m/s |
| 22:00 ☾ | 979hPa | 100% | 100% | 56% | 71% | -9.4° | 100% | 16m/s | 7.8m/s |
| 23:00 ☾ | 978hPa | 100% | 100% | 56% | 73% | -17° | 100% | 17m/s | 7.5m/s |
| Mon, Feb 23
Sunrise 06:58
Sunset 20:54 | |||||||||
| 24:00 ☾ | 977hPa | 100% | 100% | 56% | 74% | -22° | 100% | 16m/s | 7.6m/s |
| 01:00 ☾ | 977hPa | 100% | 100% | 56% | 76% | -26° | 100% | 16m/s | 7.6m/s |
| 02:00 ☾ | 976hPa | 100% | 100% | 56% | 75% | -27° | 100% | 15m/s | 7m/s |
| 03:00 ☾ | 976hPa | 100% | 100% | 56% | 73% | -26° | 100% | 13m/s | 6.1m/s |
| 04:00 ☾ | 975hPa | 99% | 100% | 61% | 75% | -22° | 100% | 12m/s | 6.5m/s |
| 05:00 ☾ | 974hPa | 96% | 100% | 66% | 77% | -16° | 100% | 10m/s | 4.6m/s |
| 06:00 ☾ | 973hPa | 100% | 100% | 71% | 78% | -8.8° | 100% | 9.5m/s | 3.7m/s |
| 07:00 | 972hPa | 100% | 93% | 79% | 84% | 0.006° | 100% | 10m/s | 4.4m/s |
| 08:00 | 972hPa | 100% | 100% | 87% | 83% | 8.3° | 100% | 11m/s | 4.4m/s |
| 09:00 | 972hPa | 95% | 100% | 95% | 76% | 17° | 100% | 11m/s | 4.6m/s |
| 10:00 | 972hPa | 100% | 100% | 71% | 70% | 26° | 100% | 7.9m/s | 4.8m/s |
| 11:00 | 972hPa | 76% | 100% | 48% | 67% | 34° | 100% | 6.4m/s | 4.4m/s |
| 12:00 | 973hPa | 10% | 100% | 25% | 74% | 41° | 100% | 7.2m/s | 5.9m/s |
| 13:00 | 974hPa | 100% | 100% | 17% | 76% | 45° | 100% | 13m/s | 6.7m/s |
| 14:00 | 975hPa | 83% | 100% | 8% | 64% | 47° | 100% | 13m/s | 7.6m/s |
| 15:00 | 977hPa | 88% | 100% | 0% | 55% | 45° | 100% | 13m/s | 8.8m/s |
| 16:00 | 978hPa | 2% | 100% | 0% | 53% | 40° | 100% | 14m/s | 9m/s |
| 17:00 | 979hPa | 0% | 4% | 1% | 50% | 33° | 4% | 14m/s | 8.7m/s |
| 18:00 | 981hPa | 0% | 0% | 1% | 51% | 25° | 3% | 14m/s | 8.2m/s |
| 19:00 | 982hPa | 0% | 0% | 1% | 54% | 16° | 5% | 13m/s | 7.6m/s |
| 20:00 | 983hPa | 0% | 0% | 0% | 57% | 7.3° | 5% | 13m/s | 6.8m/s |
| 21:00 ☾ | 985hPa | 5% | 3% | 0% | 61% | -1.4° | 5% | 13m/s | 6.2m/s |
| 22:00 ☾ | 986hPa | 0% | 1% | 0% | 66% | -9.8° | 5% | 12m/s | 5.4m/s |
| 23:00 ☾ | 987hPa | 5% | 0% | 0% | 68% | -17° | 5% | 12m/s | 5.1m/s |
| Tue, Feb 24
Sunrise 07:00
Sunset 20:51 | |||||||||
| 24:00 ☾ | 987hPa | 50% | 3% | 0% | 71% | -23° | 50% | 12m/s | 5.4m/s |
| 01:00 ☾ | 988hPa | 68% | 5% | 0% | 72% | -26° | 68% | 12m/s | 5.5m/s |
| 02:00 ☾ | 988hPa | 20% | 59% | 0% | 72% | -27° | 59% | 13m/s | 5.6m/s |
| 03:00 ☾ | 988hPa | 99% | 99% | 0% | 76% | -26° | 100% | 13m/s | 5.3m/s |
| 04:00 ☾ | 988hPa | 100% | 100% | 0% | 71% | -22° | 100% | 13m/s | 5.9m/s |
| 05:00 ☾ | 988hPa | 100% | 100% | 0% | 72% | -16° | 100% | 14m/s | 6.1m/s |
| 06:00 ☾ | 988hPa | 100% | 100% | 0% | 68% | -9.1° | 100% | 15m/s | 6.6m/s |
| 07:00 ☾ | 989hPa | 5% | 88% | 0% | 71% | -0.46° | 88% | 16m/s | 6.4m/s |
| 08:00 | 989hPa | 5% | 56% | 0% | 70% | 8.1° | 70% | 16m/s | 6.3m/s |
| 09:00 | 989hPa | 5% | 6% | 0% | 67% | 17° | 56% | 15m/s | 6.4m/s |
| 10:00 | 989hPa | 5% | 14% | 0% | 63% | 26° | 33% | 15m/s | 6.6m/s |
| 11:00 | 989hPa | 5% | 30% | 1% | 61% | 34° | 92% | 15m/s | 7.1m/s |
| 12:00 | 989hPa | 5% | 35% | 1% | 66% | 40° | 70% | 14m/s | 6.1m/s |
| 13:00 | 989hPa | 5% | 54% | 1% | 60% | 45° | 64% | 13m/s | 6.6m/s |
| 14:00 | 989hPa | 22% | 8% | 0% | 52% | 46° | 76% | 11m/s | 6.3m/s |
| 15:00 | 989hPa | 38% | 5% | 0% | 51% | 44° | 81% | 10m/s | 5.5m/s |
| 16:00 | 989hPa | 5% | 5% | 0% | 49% | 40° | 87% | 7.2m/s | 3.7m/s |
| 17:00 | 989hPa | 6% | 3% | 0% | 50% | 33° | 85% | 5.2m/s | 2.5m/s |
| 18:00 | 989hPa | 5% | 1% | 0% | 51% | 25° | 81% | 4.3m/s | 2.5m/s |
| 19:00 | 989hPa | 5% | 5% | 0% | 54% | 16° | 71% | 3.7m/s | 2.2m/s |
| 20:00 | 989hPa | 5% | 5% | 0% | 63% | 7° | 44% | 2.2m/s | 1.4m/s |
| 21:00 ☾ | 989hPa | 5% | 5% | 0% | 73% | -1.8° | 42% | 0.82m/s | 0.66m/s |
| 22:00 ☾ | 993hPa | 25% | 3% | 0% | 75% | -10° | 50% | 2.8m/s | 1.8m/s |
| 23:00 ☾ | 996hPa | 45% | 2% | 0% | 76% | -17° | 57% | 4.8m/s | 2.9m/s |
| Wed, Feb 25
Sunrise 07:02
Sunset 20:49 | |||||||||
| 24:00 ☾ | 1000hPa | 65% | 0% | 0% | 78% | -23° | 65% | 6.8m/s | 4m/s |
| 01:00 ☾ | 1000hPa | 50% | 0% | 0% | 74% | -27° | 50% | 7.3m/s | 4.2m/s |
| 02:00 ☾ | 1000hPa | 35% | 0% | 0% | 71% | -28° | 35% | 7.9m/s | 4.4m/s |
| 03:00 ☾ | 1000hPa | 20% | 0% | 0% | 67% | -26° | 20% | 8.4m/s | 4.6m/s |
| 04:00 ☾ | 999hPa | 24% | 0% | 0% | 62% | -22° | 24% | 8.3m/s | 5m/s |
| 05:00 ☾ | 999hPa | 28% | 0% | 0% | 57% | -17° | 28% | 8.2m/s | 5.4m/s |
| 06:00 ☾ | 998hPa | 32% | 0% | 0% | 51% | -9.4° | 32% | 8.1m/s | 5.8m/s |
| 07:00 ☾ | 997hPa | 55% | 2% | 0% | 48% | -0.83° | 55% | 7.8m/s | 5.6m/s |
| 08:00 | 997hPa | 77% | 3% | 0% | 45% | 7.8° | 77% | 7.4m/s | 5.4m/s |
| 09:00 | 996hPa | 100% | 5% | 0% | 41% | 17° | 100% | 7.1m/s | 5.2m/s |
| 10:00 | 995hPa | 90% | 20% | 0% | 41% | 25° | 90% | 6.2m/s | 4.8m/s |
| 11:00 | 995hPa | 79% | 35% | 0% | 41% | 33° | 79% | 5.4m/s | 4.3m/s |
| 12:00 | 994hPa | 69% | 51% | 0% | 41% | 40° | 69% | 4.6m/s | 3.9m/s |
| 13:00 | 994hPa | 79% | 52% | 0% | 45% | 44° | 79% | 4.2m/s | 3.8m/s |
| 14:00 | 994hPa | 90% | 53% | 0% | 49% | 46° | 90% | 3.8m/s | 3.6m/s |
| 15:00 | 993hPa | 100% | 54% | 0% | 53% | 44° | 100% | 3.4m/s | 3.5m/s |
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