Winter Clothes for BA

[betts]

Hi All,
We are counting down only 10 more days until we leave for BA! We will be there for 3 months exactly during winter. So my question is what winter clothes to pack. Does it get cold enough for a winter coat and heavy sweaters? How about winter boots? Gloves, hat etc.? Thanks!

 

[Neil]

http://www.clarin.com/shared/v8/clima.html

 

[HDM]

We have only been living in BAires through this past summer, but have had extended stays the last two years in mid-winter. Based on that, I would suggest packing more for wet than cold, or maybe wet and cold. Layers that are waterproof on the surface would be good, including waterproof boots. The cold was not severe, relative to really cold places in North America; snow (or ice) is so rare that the only time it snowed in the last hundred or so years is still a topic for discussion. Think of San Francisco in July, which is the coldest I have ever been when not prepared.

So: waterproof and wind resistant top layer, light wool sweater, undershirt or shirt, jeans, khakis, or corduroy slacks, wool socks, waterproof boots and shoes, possibly gloves and a hat (if you are deficient in the hair department).

It rained all day yesterday, but the temperature was in the low 60s F. San Francisco in July.

 

[diego7david]

remember that leather jackets (custom made and fit over night) and cloths in general are good buys in argentina. dress is still casual. and think that maybe you might be heading to other parts of argentina. mountains, patagonia, bariloche, potential very cold. iguazu warm. personally coming from nyc, i find the winters in ba so mild and the time outside not that long as taxis are cheap and plentiful. that i get by with a light weight leather jacket and jeans. argentines are cold the minute it goes below 70 and put on what i would consider heavy winter gear if they have it or just shiver around town in whatever they have. boots and gloves, no. although you dont say whether or not you live in the florida keys or what you are normally used to.

 

[perry]

Argentina can get much colder than many Europeans and USA citizens believe and even in Buenos Aires it can get very cold at times with a wind chill factor of -5 at times.

A few years ago in the Big Chill of 2007 I remember the month of July being frozen as I was staying in a old antique house with high ceilings and no central heating and every morning it was around 0 degrees and never reached more than 15 degrees the whole month .

 

[syngirl]

In the early mornings in July / August it can easily be -4 / -2 celsius, warming up to 8 degrees, with some days topping 12 degrees. Winters have been getting worse here it seems -- right now we've got an Antartic wind and it's only been 7 degrees in the morning -- and today they said -4 in Provincia, and we're just in mid-May!

Also, there is no central heating here -- and no insulation, so although it may not be as cold outside as in parts of the USA, it can be colder inside! Although their winters are similar to Vancouver, Canada (with less rain), I don't think anyone here has heard of weather stripping their windows. My last apartment was 900 sq ft and only had 2 small heaters in it, that essentially heated a 2 ft radius around them! I ended up pulling my desk in front of one of them and working in front of it all day.

I'm a bit of a wuss, but I did bring down my summer-weight duvet from Canada and we use it as a winter duvet here.

If you're a wuss like me and get cold easily, bring/buy a proper wool coat -- I don't agree that you need the waterproof stuff -- when it rains, yes it POURS here, but we aren't talking about Seattle. It's more like a 2 hr monsoon and then nothing for a few days straight. Proper shoes, yes, Gortex jacket, only if you want to look like you're from the Northwest.

 

[diego7david]

remember that some people are talking celsius and other like me fahrenheit degrees
converter site
http://www.metric-conversions.org/temperature/celsius-to-fahrenheit.htm
15 c sounds terribly cold but in fahrenheit its 59 degrees

in looking around i found a strange fact. that at -40 the two scales become an equal match

-40 degrees Celsius is the same as -40 Fahrenheit

 

[EvergreenGal]

I would bring heavy cotton sweaters, good thick jeans, good cotton socks and warmer walking boots...and get ready to layer! Whatever you would use in Winter where you are now...for the most part.

It's the high humidity and wind off the river and from the South in the Winter that chills to the bone...I am from Washington state and also lived in Alaska so used to colder temps...maybe my blood has thinned some! But the Winter here last year was cold..in August we had a 2 week cold period where we never turned our gas sucking heaters off!

Like others have said NO decent heating systems here and NO insulation in most homes...Thankful we brought our flannel sheets and down comforter!!

Hope this helps...and stay warm! Oh and yes on the gloves and mufflers!

 

[Napoleon]

remember that leather jackets (custom made and fit over night) and cloths in general are good buys in argentina.

Clothes can be expensive if you want name brands. If you want crap, then you can find decent buys here, but not as cheap as in the States. (I don't know if you're coming from Europe or the USA.)

If you're a girl, you want to buy your boots down here. They specialize in them. (A recent thread commented on this.)

Argentina can get much colder than many Europeans and USA citizens believe and even in Buenos Aires it can get very cold at times with a wind chill factor of -5 at times.

A few years ago in the Big Chill of 2007 I remember the month of July being frozen as I was staying in a old antique house with high ceilings and no central heating and every morning it was around 0 degrees and never reached more than 15 degrees the whole month .

WARNING: This is all in Celsius not Fahrenheit. Do not get the idea that you are going to a frozen tundra.

This means that it can get down to ~23F windchill, mornings can see temperatures right at freezing (32F) and it might not get up to 59F degrees the whole month.

Quick Points of Reference:

..C.. : ..F..

-40 : -40
-10 : +14
..-5 : +23
....0 : +32
..+5 : +41
+10 : +50
+15 : +59
+20 : +68

There are little fan/space heaters that you can get from ~AR$50 in Once to ~AR$90 in stores in better parts of town. They're all made in CHINA, so they're basically all the same

Once is also a good place for fleece gloves and caps and other types of crapo.

Good luck.

Winter of '07 was cold, windy, and miserable.
Winter of '08 was extremely mild.
Winter of '09... no sé.

 

[djlinse37]

Checking one weather site, the lowest recorded temperatures at EZE (the international airport south of Buenos Aires), were

2008: -2C
2007: -5C
2006: -2C
2005: -1C
2004: -3C
2003: -2C
2002: -5C

So in terms of absolute temperature, it is not that cold compared to a lot of places, but wind, rain (since snow is essentially unheard of) can make a big difference.

My comment on clothing would be for northern hemisphere residents: if you live at or north of those places that reliably (every year) have snowfall which stays on the ground for more than a day or two, then bring a bit less than you might expect for outdoor activities, but a bit more than you might expect for indoor activities. As others have commented, heating, insulation, window seals, less carpeting (due partially to higher humidity) and such make it feel colder inside. Without the need to regularly combat particular cold air, less money is put into buildings to combat cold air!