Last time it happened, it inspired a tango.

Thousands of Argentinians cheered, threw snowballs and walked wide-eyed through the streets of Buenos Aires last night as the city enjoyed its first proper snowfall since 1918.

Wet snow fell for hours in the Argentine capital, leaving behind a mushy, thin white mantle by evening after freezing air from Antarctica collided with a moisture-laden low pressure system.

“Despite all my years, this is the first time I’ve ever seen in snow in Buenos Aires,” said Juana Benitez, an 82-year-old who joined children celebrating in the streets.

Argentina’s National Weather Service said it was the first major snow in Buenos Aires since June 22, 1918, though sleet or freezing rain have been periodically reported in the 90 years since then.

One man stripped to his shorts to welcome the snow. Children scraped snow of cars and threw snowballs. Motorists honked horns, some with small snowmen on their hoods.

The storm struck on Argentina’s Independence Day holiday, adding to a festive air and prompting radio stations to play an old tango song inspired by the 1918 snowfall - '¿Qué noche!' ('What a night!') - by the composer Agustín Bardi.

“This is the kind of weather phenomenon that comes along every 100 years,” Hector Ciappesoni, a meteorologist, told La Nacion newspaper. “It is very difficult to predict.”

The snow followed a bitter cold snap in late May that saw temperatures fall below freezing, the coldest in 40 years in Buenos Aires. That cold wave contributed to an energy crisis and 23 deaths from exposure. Two more exposure deaths were reported yesterday.

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