The Portal To Hell
Check out this video from the McMurdo Research Station in Antarctica. One of the researchers takes us down a corridor and out to an entryway to get a first-hand glimpse at what they call “Condition 1″ weather: wind speed in excess of 55 knots, wind chill below -100 degrees Fahrenheit, and visibility less than 100 feet.
It’s like something out of the scariest horror movie EVAR.
This link takes you to a current chart of weather conditions at the station’s airfield. It’s late winter there right now, and the air temp is a balmy -30 C (-22 F), with winds around 4 meters per second (about 8 knots). Practically skinny-dipping weather there!
August 27th, 2008 at 6:17 pm
I’ve always harbored a wish to work one season at McMurdo…maybe I’d better start figuring out a way to keep warm.
August 27th, 2008 at 6:18 pm
It’s funny you should say that, because as I watched this video I thought to myself “I’ll bet THAT’S something Karan has never done!” :)
August 27th, 2008 at 6:41 pm
I had a boyfriend in my undergrad days who spent a year doing research at McMurdo. There was a whole half of the year when we couldn’t reach him whatsoever. I guess this is why. He came back in one piece though. Except he didn’t bring me home a penguin to keep in my freezer as I’d begged him to do.