A Puelche wind is a dry foehn-like eastern wind that occurs in south

Zona Sur

The Zona Sur is one of the five natural regions on which CORFO divided continental Chile in 1950. Its northern border is formed by the Bío-Bío River, the limit with the Central Chile Zone. By west with the Pacific Ocean, by the east with the Andean mountains and Argentina. Its southern border is...

-central Chile

Chile

Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...

. The wind owns its name from the Puelche

Puelche

Puelche is the name that the Mapuche used to give the ethnic groups who inhabited the lands to the east of the Andes Mountains including the northern Tehuelches and Hets, these last ones were also known as the Pampas or Querandíes...

 people that inhabited the eastern slopes of the Andes

Andes

The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...

. Puelche is mainly caused by South Pacific high

Pacific High

The South Pacific High is a subtropical anticyclone located in the south east of the Pacific Ocean making the west coast of South America arid. Sechura and Atacama deserts, as the whole climate of Chile, are heavily influenced by this semi-permanent high pressure area....

 pressure extending eastwards across the Andes and/or building a ridge to an area of high pressure centered over the South Atlantic. Puelche Winds appearing in spring

Spring (season)

Spring is one of the four temperate seasons, the transition period between winter and summer. Spring and "springtime" refer to the season, and broadly to ideas of rebirth, renewal and regrowth. The specific definition of the exact timing of "spring" varies according to local climate, cultures and...

 can cause fast snow melt in the Andes producing floods and reducing the albedo

Albedo

Albedo , or reflection coefficient, is the diffuse reflectivity or reflecting power of a surface. It is defined as the ratio of reflected radiation from the surface to incident radiation upon it...

 of glacier

Glacier

A glacier is a large persistent body of ice that forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. At least 0.1 km² in area and 50 m thick, but often much larger, a glacier slowly deforms and flows due to stresses induced by its weight...

s.