Uruguay is situated at geographic coordinates 33º S, 56º W. It is therefore within the temperate climate zone. This means that people living there can expect a climate that is warm, with rainfall evenly distributed throughout the year. Temperatures rarely fall below freezing and range from 10 to 16º C during the winter (June to September) and from 21 to 28º C during the summer (December to March).
However, Uruguay is vulnerable to quick changes in the weather from weather fronts. This is because the country has no mountain ranges to act as weather barriers. The highest point is Cerro Catedral at 514m.
Uruguay can also suffer from several natural weather hazards, for example floods and droughts. It also occasionally experiences the pampero. This is a cold and sometimes violent wind, which blows north from the Argentine pampas.
Above average rainfall in April 2002 gave rise to floods in Uruguay. The large river running down the border between Uruguay and Argentina is the Uruguay River and the spidery Lake in the centre is Lake Rincon del Bonte. Normally the Lake and its tributaries cover a smaller area - see satellite picture taken on 2nd April.
Photograph Jacques Descloitries NASA
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Uruguay