For those who love to read about weather

The climatic conditions in Antarctica can be just that- climatic. I'm not one to obsess about weather forecasting, I usually just take it as it comes. But its a whole different story down here.

McMurdo station may have fairer conditions compared to the South Pole or various field camps around the continent, but things can get quite grizzly down here nonetheless. As such they use a weather rating system that isn’t used everywhere around the world. It consists of three conditions, and they are:

Condition 3: ‘Normal’ weather at McMurdo.
• Wind speeds: less than 48 knots
• Temperature: wind chills warmer than -75oF
• Visibility: greater than ¼ mile

Condition 2: Required to check out with Firehouse by radio prior to leaving town and upon return. Defined by one or more of the following conditions:
• Wind speeds: 48-55 knots
• Temperature: wind chills -75oF to -100oF
• Visibility: less than ¼ mile

Condition 1: Only ‘mission critical’ travel is permitted with permission from station managers; everyone is confined to the building they are in during the entire duration. Defined by one or more of the following conditions:
• Wind speeds: greater than 55 knots
• Temperature: wind chills colder than -100oF
• Visibility: less than 100 feet

Forecasting- weather balloons are launched daily and there are several weather observers and forecasters working around the clock to predict the weather conditions. Despite all their efforts, this region is renowned for having quite unpredictable weather, and we rarely see forecasting for more than a day or two in advance.