2009 Argentine winter heat wave
Dates	26 August 2009 to 31 August 2009
Areas affected	Northern-Centre regions of Argentina

The 2009 Argentine winter heat wave

Heat wave

A heat wave is a prolonged period of excessively hot weather, which may be accompanied by high humidity. There is no universal definition of a heat wave; the term is relative to the usual weather in the area...

was a period of unusual and exceptionally hot weather that arrived at the end of the winter on August 2009 in Argentina

Argentina

Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

. Several provinces of the country were most affected. Several records were broken. August 2009 was the warmest month since official measurements began.
On 30 August 2009 it was hot enough to be the middle of summer late last week in the heart of Argentina

Argentina

Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

 even with the calendar showing more than three weeks remaining in the Southern Hemisphere winter.

A shot of tropical heat

Heat

In physics and thermodynamics, heat is energy transferred from one body, region, or thermodynamic system to another due to thermal contact or thermal radiation when the systems are at different temperatures. It is often described as one of the fundamental processes of energy transfer between...

 drawn unusually far southward hiked temperatures 30 degrees above normal in the city of Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...

 and across the northern-centre regions of the country.
Even though normal high temperatures for late August are in the lower 15°C/60°F, readings topped 30°C/90°F degrees at midweek, then topped out above 32°C/90°F degrees during the weekend.

Temperatures hit 33.8°C/93°F on 29 August and finally 34.6°C/94°F on 31 August in Buenos Aires, making it the hottest day ever recorded in winter breaking the 1996 winter record of 33.7°C/92°F.
Elsewhere in Argentina, the mid-northern city of Córdoba

Córdoba, Argentina

Córdoba is a city located near the geographical center of Argentina, in the foothills of the Sierras Chicas on the Suquía River, about northwest of Buenos Aires. It is the capital of Córdoba Province. Córdoba is the second-largest city in Argentina after the federal capital Buenos Aires, with...

 reached a dramatic high of 37,8°C/100.4°F degrees on 29 August 2009. Another northern city, Santa Fe

Santa Fe, Argentina

Santa Fe is the capital city of province of Santa Fe, Argentina. It sits in northeastern Argentina, near the junction of the Paraná and Salado rivers. It lies opposite the city of Paraná, to which it is linked by the Hernandarias Subfluvial Tunnel. The city is also connected by canal with the...

, registered a remarkable 38.3°C/101°F degrees on 30 August, notwithstanding the normal high in the upper 15°C/60°Fs.