Entrance to PNN Sumapaz
© William Herrera/Alcaldía de BogotáEntrance to PNN Sumapaz
It's been a wild, wet month for weather all around. Hail resembling snow in Mexico City. Historic flooding in Yellowstone. Two feet of new snow in Montana. The snowiest start to ski season in New Zealand that anyone can remember.

And now this.

Colombian National Park Sumapaz got snow last week—the first in over 60 years, according to The City Paper. Sumapaz is a remote location approximately 90 miles south of the Colombian capital city of Bogota and is a vital water source for upwards of 8 million people.



photo of snow coming down at Sumapaz National Park last Friday.
© The City PaperPhoto of snow coming down at Sumapaz National Park last Friday.
Two important rivers originate in the high-altitude wetland of Sumapaz; the Pilar and the Sumapaz. Both rivers traverse the Eastern Cordillera and empty into the Magdalena River valley, according to TCP. Sumapaz was declared a national park in 1977 and is considered the largest wetland ecosystem in the world covering an area of 450 square miles that extends across the departments of Cundinamarca, Tolima, Meta, and Huila.

The unexpected snowfall in Sumapaz transformed the high-altitude wetland into a winter wonderland on Friday, covering local buses, cars, and fincas. Colombian authorities are warning that the new snow along with heavy rains could cause the Sumapaz river to flood and have issued flood warnings along the Magdalena, the TCP reports.