ARGENTINA: Snow dusts Buenos Aires streets for the first time in 89 years

It wasn't a blizzard, but Buenos Aires delights in its first white dusting of snow in 89 years. For most, it was for the first time in their lives - the sight of Buenos Aires frosted in white on Tuesday (July 10). Snow is uncommon in this usually temperate Argentine. It was some 89 years ago on June 22, 1918 since the snow actually settled on the ground. Most couldn't even remember the last time it happened. "I came to see it and I can't believe it. I have been excited since yesterday," said one woman out early on Tuesday morning. "This is the first time. I have never seen snow before," said another local resident. Soft snow glittered down over the city for most of Monday (July 9), to the delight of Argentines big and small. The storm struck on the country's Independence Day, and many said it was the best gift their nation could get. Many families made good use of the public holiday to get outside, take pictures or just jump around in the tiny, white flakes. The cold snap did have another face though - two died from exposure on Monday and thousands more homeless struggled to fight off the cold on the streets of the city. One homeless man said he wouldn't wish his situation on anybody. "I wish that this was happening to nobody else but me," one homeless man said. The last time snow fell to the streets of Buenos Aires, the city was blanketed from top to bottom. The dumping on Monday was more of a sugar coating, but Argentines were nothing if not elated. Many people made their way to the city's iconic white obelisk for the historic event, happy to soak up as much of the white stuff as they could. "I have always seen (snow) on the television. I have never been in something so beautiful as this. So I came to the obelisk," one woman said. The meteorological service is predicting cold to freezing temperatures for the rest of the week, but the experts say no more snow is on the horizon for perhaps another turn of the century.

ITN Source | July 11, 2007

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