Condition 2 storm

Well, I've survived my first McMurdo Condition 2 storm! It was snowing yesterday, but the bad part was the howling wind.

McMurdo has a classification system for the weather. Condition 3 is normal weather and normal activities can proceed. Condition 2 is pretty bad, and condition 1 is insanely bad (you're not allowed to leave the building you're in). It was condition 1 out at Pegasus Airfield yesterday, which is where the flights to Antarctica land. Usually it only gets condition 1 at McMurdo during the winter.

My Youtube video of the wind. This wasn't the worst of it

Here's the definition for what qualifies as condition 2:

Severe Weather Condition II

• Winds 48 to 55 knots sustained for one minute, or
• Visibility less than ¼ mile, but greater than or equal to 100 feet sustained for one minute, or
• Wind chill -75°F to -100°F sustained for one minute.

I think we got to condition 2 because of the wind and visibility. Our maximum wind gust from yesterday was 45 knots/52 mph. The lowest temperature yesterday was 23 degrees Fahrenheit, but the wind chill had it down to 1 degree!

There are actually restrictions on what you can do once we get condition 2. Here's the list of restrictions:

Severe Weather Condition II

Restricted pedestrian traffic only between buildings is allowed. Vehicular travel is only allowed in radio equipped, enclosed vehicles, and check out with the Firehouse is required.

Of course, today is calm with blue skies!

Also, I made a new blog post on the Nemablog http://nemablog.wordpress.com/2011/12/23/sampling-the-bee-plots/