{"id":521293,"date":"2026-08-13T10:11:58","date_gmt":"2026-08-13T14:11:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.net\/en\/uncategorized\/snow-in-guatemala-heavy-hailstorm-surprises-the-western-region-of-the-country\/"},"modified":"2026-08-13T10:11:58","modified_gmt":"2026-08-13T14:11:58","slug":"snow-in-guatemala-heavy-hailstorm-surprises-the-western-region-of-the-country","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/international\/snow-in-guatemala-heavy-hailstorm-surprises-the-western-region-of-the-country\/","title":{"rendered":"\u00bfSnow in Guatemala? Heavy hailstorm surprises the western region of the country"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Snow<\/strong> covered several areas of the western region of Guatemala following an unusual hailstorm that transformed the landscape of the municipalities of Olintepeque<\/strong>, in Quetzaltenango, and San Andr\u00e9s Xecul<\/strong>, in Totonicap\u00e1n.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to local media reports and social media posts, the phenomenon occurred during the last few hours and created images that many compared to scenes of a European winter, a rare event in the Guatemalan highlands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You might be interested in:<\/strong> Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Streets, temples and crops under snow<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The images shared by the population show streets, homes, crop fields, and the atriums of historic temples covered by several centimeters of ice<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The unusual accumulation surprised residents and visitors, who took the opportunity to record the moment and, in some cases, form mounds of ice in the main squares.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, surprise gave way to concern<\/strong> among authorities and relief agencies, given the risk of damage to urban infrastructure<\/strong> and short-cycle crops, which are vital to the economy of these highland communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The phenomenon triggered the activation of emergency protocols in both municipalities. According to the National Coordinator for Disaster Reduction (Conred)<\/strong>, monitoring remained constant to assess potential structural damage and agricultural losses, especially in corn and vegetable crops<\/a> that were in the development stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Local authorities have indicated that monitoring will remain active and recommended caution to the population. Conred<\/a><\/strong> reiterated the importance of reporting any damage<\/strong> and following recommendations to avoid accidents due to slippery surfaces or structural damage, as well as evaluating the impact on crops, which are fundamental to the subsistence of many families in the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why does this natural phenomenon occur?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The massive hailstorm<\/strong> is a response to atmospheric processes associated with vertically developed clouds called cumulonimbus<\/strong><\/a>. These clouds reach great heights due to updrafts of warm air that collide with cold layers in the upper atmosphere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Water vapor, when propelled into these cold zones, freezes immediately and, after several cycles of rising and falling within the cloud, forms ice particles that gain weight until they precipitate as hail before melting completely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This physical process usually intensifies in mountainous areas<\/strong>, where the base ambient temperature is lower, which favors the accumulation of hail on the surface. The meteorological conditions that favor this phenomenon include seasonal transitions and high levels of atmospheric humidity, as explained by the National Institute of Seismology, Volcanology, Meteorology and Hydrology (Insivumeh<\/strong>) on other occasions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recurrent zones and background in the altiplano<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Although the magnitude of the episode surprised the population, phenomena similar to a snowfall have occurred on other occasions in the western highlands of Guatemala<\/strong>. Records from Conred<\/strong> and historical reports show that municipalities such as San Carlos Sija, Pologu\u00e1, Momostenango, and San Jos\u00e9 Ojetenam<\/strong> have experienced intense hailstorm events, in which the accumulation of ice covered roads and crops with a white mantle resembling snow<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The departments of Quetzaltenango, Totonicap\u00e1n, San Marcos, Huehuetenango, and Chimaltenango<\/strong> concentrate a significant frequency of these storms, especially during seasonal changes. In previous years, hailstorms have caused damage to agriculture and complications in local mobility. Although some people popularly describe these episodes as \u201csnow in Guatemala\u201d<\/strong>, in most cases, they are accumulations of hail and not a true snowfall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The scene of a white blanket covering western Guatemala<\/strong> became a trend on social media, where numerous users compared the landscape to a snowfall<\/strong>. The images also rekindled interest in the possibility of snow falling again in Quetzaltenango, Totonicap\u00e1n, and other high areas of Guatemala<\/strong>, although meteorologically the recorded phenomenon corresponds to a severe hailstorm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why can a hailstorm look like snow?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Although the images from Olintepeque and San Andr\u00e9s Xecul may seem like a snowfall<\/strong>, what occurred corresponds to a hail<\/strong> phenomenon. The difference is important: hail forms inside storm clouds when strong updrafts lift water droplets into areas of the cloud with sub-zero temperatures. There, they freeze and can accumulate new layers of ice before falling to the surface.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the highlands of western Guatemala, high-altitude conditions favor the rapid accumulation of hail on roads, homes, crops, and land. When the amount of ice is significant, the landscape can be completely covered in white, creating an appearance similar to snow<\/strong> for minutes or even hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The difference between both phenomena is fundamental: while snow<\/strong> is formed by ice crystals that fall from clouds and reach the ground without melting, hail is composed of balls or fragments of ice that develop within strong storms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Therefore, although the photographs show a landscape that appears to be covered in snow in Guatemala<\/strong>, meteorological authorities may classify the episode as an intense hailstorm<\/strong>. The accumulation of ice, however, can produce an image practically identical to that of a snowfall and leave streets, roofs, and fields completely white.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nhttps:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/internacionales\/chile-suma-20-dias-de-cierre\/\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Snow covered several areas of the western region of Guatemala following an unusual hailstorm that transformed the landscape of the municipalities of Olintepeque, in Quetzaltenango, and San Andr\u00e9s Xecul, in Totonicap\u00e1n. According to local media reports and social media posts, the phenomenon occurred during the last few hours and created images that many compared to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":521294,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[95],"tags":[15100,43145],"class_list":["post-521293","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-international","tag-guatemala","tag-snow"],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/phj1q1-2bBX","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/5LSNAGIGWNGPNK2VXAGWSBXX54.avif","dum_api":{"author_name":"Redacci\u00f3n De \u00daltimo Minuto","author_image":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/cropped-logo-de-ultimo-minuto-96x96.png","categories_name":["International"],"featured_media_url":"https:\/\/cdn.deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/5LSNAGIGWNGPNK2VXAGWSBXX54.avif"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/521293","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=521293"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/521293\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/521294"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=521293"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=521293"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=521293"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}