{"id":876,"date":"2026-09-13T07:09:56","date_gmt":"2026-09-13T07:09:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ciresblogs.colorado.edu\/antarcticuavs\/?p=876"},"modified":"2026-09-13T19:07:01","modified_gmt":"2026-09-13T19:07:01","slug":"condition-one","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ciresblogs.colorado.edu\/antarcticuavs\/2026\/09\/13\/condition-one\/","title":{"rendered":"Condition One"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sunday 13 September 2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The weather in McMurdo has been windy the last few days which has kept us from doing as many drone flights as we would like to. The stormy weather intensified Saturday night into Sunday morning with winds in McMurdo sustained at 50+ mph and gusting to more than 70 mph for 10 hours.&nbsp;<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/sundowner.colorado.edu\/www\/blog\/condition_1\/IMG_0404.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">As I looked at Ob Hill bathed in golden light as the sun set Saturday evening there was no hint of the strong winds and stormy weather that would arrive overnight.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Because the weather in Antarctica can be so dangerous the U.S. Antarctic Program classifies weather into three conditions. Condition 3 weather is fine. Fine weather in Antarctica means that the wind chill is warmer than -70 F, winds are less than 55 mph and visibility is greater than \u00bc mile. For condition 3 weather all outdoor activity and travel is allowed.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Condition 2 weather occurs if the wind chill temperature is between -70 and -100 F, winds are blowing at 55 to 63 mph or visibility is between 100 feet and \u00bc mile. With condition 2 weather we are still allowed to walk from building to building in McMurdo Station but any travel outside of the station, in a vehicle, requires checking out with McMurdo central communications.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Condition 1 weather is the most severe weather classification here. This occurs if the wind chill temperature is less than -100 F, winds are greater than 63 mph or visibility is less than 100 feet. When condition 1 weather occurs no one is allowed to leave the building they are in.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When I woke up this morning the weather in McMurdo was condition 2 but was condition 1 everywhere outside of McMurdo. As I went to leave my dorm to walk to the Crary science building the entryway to the dorm was filled with drifted snow that had been blown through gaps around the door by the strong winds that had picked up overnight.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/sundowner.colorado.edu\/www\/blog\/condition_1\/IMG_0432.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Drifted snow in the entryway of my dorm building.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Soon after I got to my office in Crary the sustained wind strengthened to 60+ mph, with gusts up to 90 mph. With the strong wind blowing snow reduced the visibility to zero at times. As a result McMurdo\u2019s weather was set to condition 1 and I was stuck in Crary until the weather improved.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/sundowner.colorado.edu\/www\/blog\/condition_1\/condition1_wx.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The intranet at McMurdo Station posts current weather conditions. This morning, after the storm intensified, everywhere around McMurdo was experiencing condition 1 weather. At this time the temperature was a relatively mild 10 F with sustained winds of 59 knots (67 mph) gusting to 73 knots (84 mph) in McMurdo.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As a weather weenie I was very excited to experience such an intense Antarctic storm. This was the first time, in my 16 Antarctic trips, that I\u2019d ever experienced condition 1 weather. As the morning progressed I watched the weather through the windows in Crary while the wind caused the building to shake and moan. A few times I stepped just outside of Crary to experience the ferocity of the storm. Wind gusts of more than 80 mph buffeted me and made it hard to stand upright. The strong wind pelted me with blowing snow that coated my face and blew down the neck of my jacket. I was glad I was just a few steps from the comfort and safety of being inside.&nbsp;<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Below are a few photos and videos from this morning\u2019s stormy Antarctic weather.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/sundowner.colorado.edu\/www\/blog\/condition_1\/IMG_0406.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">View of the NSF chalet building less than 100 feet from the Crary loading dock where I took this photo.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/sundowner.colorado.edu\/www\/blog\/condition_1\/IMG_0411.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Looking towards McMurdo Sound from the back of the Crary building.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-video\"><video controls src=\"https:\/\/sundowner.colorado.edu\/www\/blog\/condition_1\/antarctica_condition1-1_720p.mp4\"><\/video><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">I shot this video through the triple pane windows in the Crary library. Despite being inside you can still hear the wind howling past the building. The building that is sometimes visible on the right side of the frame is the NSF chalet less than 100 feet away. During this video visibility drops to zero at times as the strongest gusts blow past.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-video\"><video controls src=\"https:\/\/sundowner.colorado.edu\/www\/blog\/condition_1\/antarctica_condition1-2_720p.mp4\"><\/video><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">I shot this video standing just outside of the Crary building. This gives a slightly better sense of being outside in the strong wind than the previous video. In the last part of this video the dirt road running through the middle of the frame is about 30 feet from where I am standing but is mostly obscured by blowing snow. In these conditions it would be very easy to lose you way walking from one building to another which is why we are required to shelter in place during condition 1 weather.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The winds weakened around 11:30 this morning and the weather was classified as condition 2. This meant I could leave Crary and go to the galley to get Sunday brunch.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The forecast is calling for calmer weather the next day or two so hopefully Kara and I will be able to resume our research drone flights tomorrow.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Thanks for reading.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sunday 13 September 2026 The weather in McMurdo has been windy the last few days which has kept us from doing as many drone flights as we would like to. The stormy weather intensified Saturday night into Sunday morning with winds in McMurdo sustained at 50+ mph and gusting to more than 70 mph for&hellip; <a class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/ciresblogs.colorado.edu\/antarcticuavs\/2026\/09\/13\/condition-one\/\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-876","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-09-21 04:19:34","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ciresblogs.colorado.edu\/antarcticuavs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/876","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ciresblogs.colorado.edu\/antarcticuavs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ciresblogs.colorado.edu\/antarcticuavs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ciresblogs.colorado.edu\/antarcticuavs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ciresblogs.colorado.edu\/antarcticuavs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=876"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ciresblogs.colorado.edu\/antarcticuavs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/876\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":879,"href":"https:\/\/ciresblogs.colorado.edu\/antarcticuavs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/876\/revisions\/879"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ciresblogs.colorado.edu\/antarcticuavs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=876"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ciresblogs.colorado.edu\/antarcticuavs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=876"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ciresblogs.colorado.edu\/antarcticuavs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=876"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}