ANTARCTICA NEWS ARCHIVES

2008 South Pole Weather Summary

Posted: January 22, 2009

Courtesy: South Pole Met Dept

January 08

The average temperature this was -29.9 C (-21.8 F). but that’s because the days get shorter in Antarctica in January. We had clear skies and many hours of solar radiation. Ten out of thirty one days were clear and a total of 622.9 hours of solar radiation were recorded. That means that the sun was out almost 21 hours per day. There were two wind related records broken, both occurring on the 10th.

February 08

The sun lowered to only 16.8 hours a day - average temperature was -41.6 C (-42.9 F). Skies were mostly clear on the majority of days and had many hours of solar radiation. Six out of twenty-nine days were clear, thirteen were partly cloudy, and a total of 487.4 hours of solar radiation were recorded. There were no new wind records set. On the 7th there was the occurrence of an 82% solar eclipse.

March 08

The sun lowered and set our average temperature this month to -53.4 C (-64.1 F). Eleven out of thirty-one days were clear, fourteen were partly cloudy, and six were cloudy. There were no new wind records set. Although the average monthly temperature was only slightly warmer than the historical average, daily temperatures varied widely this month. On March 13th and 14th, the daily low temperatures of -64.8? C (-84.6? F) were less than three Celsius degrees away from the record low temperatures. A week later on March 21st, a new record high of -35.9? C (-32.6? F) was set.

April 08

The average temperature was -54.2 C (-65.6 F) which was 3.1 C warmer than the historical average. This trend was fueled mainly by two warm systems on the 9th and the 24th-26th of the month, which brought cloudy skies and prevailing winds from the north-northeast. Sixteen out of thirty days were clear, nine were partly cloudy, and five were cloudy. The average wind speed of 10.7 knots was slightly less than the historical average, but one new peak wind record of 30 knots was set on April 9th. Two new maximum temperatures were set with -36.8 C (-34.2 F) on April 9th and -33.5 C (-28.3 F) on April 25th.

May 08

Average temperature was -59.1 C (-74.4 F) which was only 1.1 C colder than the historical average. We experienced a warm system with cloudy skies and winds from the north-northwest on the 16th and 17th, and several cold spells with temperatures in the -66.8 C to -69.7 C range or about 93 degrees below zero, but most of the month's weather was fairly unremarkable and close to the historical average values. Fifteen out of thirty-one days were clear, fourteen were partly cloudy, and two were cloudy.

June 08

Average temperature was -61.8 C (-79.2 F) which was -3.2 C colder than the historical average. We experienced a warm system with mostly cloudy skies and winds from the north-northwest on the 7th and 8th, and several cold spells with temperatures in the -70.1?C to -71.4?C or 160.52 degrees F below zero. Twenty out of thirty days were clear, nine were partly cloudy, and one was cloudy. No new wind speed records occurred. I wonder if 160.52 degrees below zero is a world record. Pengey Penguin Reporting

July 08

Average temperature was -57.1 C (-70.8 F) which was +2.9 C warmer than the historical average. There were several warm systems on the 12th-13th and the 25th-28th that drove this warm average, and the only particularly cold snap occurred on the 10th. Fifteen out of thirty days were clear, twelve were partly cloudy, and four were cloudy. No new wind speed records occurred.

August 08

Average temperature was -60.1 C (-76.2 F) was just -0.4 C colder than the historical average. We had warm systems on the 2nd-3rd and 7th-8th with cloudy skies and winds from the north, and a particularly cold spell on the 17th that brought the winter's lowest temperatures so far. Twelve out of thirty-one days were clear, sixteen were partly cloudy, and three were cloudy. No new wind speed records occurred.

September 08

Average temperature was -53.9 C (-65.0 F) was considerably warmer than the historical average of -59.1 C (-74.4 F). This was fueled by very warm systems on the 3rd-5th and on the 11th, and by generally warmer temperatures overall throughout the month. Three out of thirty days were clear (tying a minimum record set in 2006), sixteen were partly cloudy, and eleven were cloudy. On September 4th, the maximum temperature of -33.7°C (-28.7°F) broke the previous daily record high of -39.2°C (-38.6°F) set in 1976.  A new wind record occurred on the 10th with the daily average wind speed of 2.3 knots breaking the lowest average wind speed of 5.6 knots set in 2005.

October 08

Average temperature was -51.5 C (-60.7 F) was close to the historical average of -51.1 C (-60.0 F). A warm system on the 17th came with overcast skies and winds from the north, and the coldest temperatures were seen on the 1st. Temperatures increased throughout the month as the sun rose higher in the sky. Six out of thirty-one days were clear, twelve were partly cloudy, and thirteen were cloudy.

November 08

Record high temperatures were set on the 3rd and 4th. The warmer weather was short-lived and colder than normal conditions, returned for much of the remainder of the month. These cold conditions resulted in a monthly average temperature of -38.7°C/-37°7F, which was 0.5°C/0.9°F below normal. The average daily amount of sunshine (21.1 hrs, or 88%) was also indicative of the clear and cold month. November also yielded a total of seven clear days, fourteen partly cloudy days, and nine cloudy days, although the majority of the cloudy days were days with very high clouds.

December 08

The first half of the month clear and sunny, but low level moisture brought bouts of mist and periods of blowing snow to the pole. Although the horizon was fuzzy, the lack of clouds kept temperatures slightly cooler than normal during the first half of the month. The second half of the month was much more eventful, with storm systems moving in off the Weddell Sea on an almost constant cycle. This kept the moisture and winds in place, but also brought clouds and snow grains. One particular storm on the 23rd produced the peak wind gust of 27kt/31mph. Another potent storm brought strong winds, freezing fog, and unseasonably warm temperatures to the pole between the 29th and the 31st. In fact, on the 31st the temperature rose above the zero degree mark, reaching a daily record high of -17.5°C/+0.5°F. With a number of storms moving through the region it was expected that there would be a good accumulation of snow at the snowstake field. However, the net change in the field was only +0.004". Other highlights for the month included a new record in terms of the monthly minimum station pressure. The new record, 667.6mb/19.714"Hg, broke the old record of 670.0mb/19.785"Hg set in 1999. The overall average monthly pressure was 4.7mb/0.139"Hg lower than normal and the average monthly temperature was 1.2°C/2.1°F warmer than normal. The station averaged 19.0 hours of sunshine (79% of normal). And, although it was a particularly unsettled month in terms of weather, there were zero days in which the visibility dropped below one quarter of a mile.