Weatherman blames Peru for weird weather; says things will warm up –and cool down– by next week

Ecuador’s National Institute of Meteorolgoy says a jet stream “anomoly” is directing cool, dry air to Ecuador from southern Peru, causing unseasonable cool mornings and warm afternoons in the Cuenca area. According to the institute’s Hernán Parreño, “This is very usual but it has happened before.”

Although the southern air mass is affecting the entire country, its impact is the most pronounced in southern Ecuador. The area has received below normal rainfall this season and this week’s cool nights and cloudless days have intensified evaporation, worsening the situation.

Morning temperatures in Cuenca’s higher elevations have been as low as 0 to 1 degrees (32 to 35F) this week while clear skies allow temperatures to rebound to warmer-than-average 23 to 25 degree readings (mid-70sF) in the afternoons.

Parreño says conditions should return to normal by Sunday, although he says it’s possible the phenomenon could return late next week.

Photo caption: Frost on the ground in the Tarqui Valley.