WEATHERMAN BLAMES ECUADOR'S COOL WEATHER ON PERU
Temperatures four to five degrees below seasonable averages are the result of cold air moving north from Peru, according Ecuador's national weather service. The cool temperatures have delayed air travel in Quito and Cuenca and have caused icing conditions on highways in the Cajas Mountains west of Cuenca. Snow as deep as two feet fell in the Cajas last week.
Weather service spokesman Alejandro Terán says the phenomenon, vaguada de Peru, occurs several times a decade and covers Ecuador with cooler air. Terán says the cool air should move out by the third week of September and temperatures will return to seasonal norms.
In the first two weeks of September, Cuenca has recorded low temperatures of 40 and 41F, while Riobamba and Ambato have seen temperatures of 30 and 32F.
August and early September is the coolest time of the year in the southern Andes, including Cuenca. September usually sees a warm up that lasts until March.
