Submitted by Anonymous on Wed, 01/02/2008 - 14:49
Forums
Antarctic Weather Stations

Kirk-

 How does the temperature compare to Alaska? I'm sure it is colder in McMurdo but i was curious!

 

Leslie

Wed, 01/02/2008 - 15:19

Kirk Beckendorf

HI Leslie,It is good to hear from you.
Keep in mind the sizes of the both Antarctica and Alaska. Alaska is over twice as large as Texas. Antarctica is about the size of the Lower 48 states and Mexico combined. So the weather can vary alot from place to place.
Currently it is 28F here in McMUrdo and 20 below zero at the South Pole. Also keep in mind it is in the middle of summer in Antarctica and the middle of winter in Alaska. I do not know what the temperature is in Alaska (you could find those temps online) right now, but I would guess it is actually much colder in Alaska (at least the interior and northern parts of the state) than it is here at McMurdo.
We really haven't experienced very cold temperatures since I have been here. I experienced much colder temperatures in Alaska when I lived there during the winter.
If you want to see what the temperatures are around the Antarctic continent you can view the real time measurements of George, Shelley, Jonathan and Jonas's weather stations at their website.
http://uwamrc.ssec.wisc.edu/realaws.html
Thanks for writing.
Kirk