Sunday, September 6, 2009

Second week

Hello! Nothing much new has been happening around here. Except for the insanity of cold and wind we had for a few days. We had lows of -50 F with wind chills as low as -90 F. That was pretty cold. It lasted a while, too. Everyone was shocked by this cold. I don't think that happens very often at McMurdo. To celebrate the conclusion (hopefully) of the cold weather, I had my picture taken by the McMurdo Station sign yesterday:
Hello Fluther! For this picture, it was only -20 F (or so) with moderate windchills (-60?). Balmy weather, compared to what we have been experiencing.

We've also had some more spectacular polar stratospheric clouds (nacreous). Check them out!
I can't get enough of these things. They are so beautiful. Everyone on station loves them, too. As the sun sets, the colors can change really fast, so they look like they are changing all the time.

As for my photo project, I snapped some shots during one of our most recent high wind and cold weather days:
Ob Hill looks a little fuzzy because of some of the blowing snow all around it. As we watched, we could even see little whirls near the peak. I like this shot. I think it has a very nice crisp look to it, despite the fuzziness.

We launched one of our big balloons a few days ago and got great data. Tonight, we are hoping to launch another one, but this time we hope to launch when there is a polar stratospheric cloud above us. That would be a great measurement for us. Wish us luck.

Courage

4 comments:

SM Violano said...

Those nacreous are mind-blowing! Awesome!

Unknown said...

Those are indeed some beautiful clouds destroying the ozone layer! And a nice crisp-blurry pic of Ob Hill... I wonder if your unseasonably cold weather is a sign of global warming. ;)

Unknown said...

Leslie, Zip up that jacket and stay WARM... Mom

Adagio said...

Hi Leslie

I'm here checking out your blog again. Must read more, will it tell me why you are in Antarctica?
Warmest wishes (no pun intended) from Auckland, NZ

PS I noticed a few of your foot prints on Fluther soil.