Laagste temperatuur ooit op Antarctica: -73.8°C

Weerstation op Antarctica

Ik loop een beetje achter maar vond deze toch nog wel leuk om door te geven: op 11 juni 2012 zakte het kwik op het zuidpool-weerstation op Antarctica naar een ijzingwekkende -73.8°C/-100.8°F. Dat is een verbreking met een halve graad van het record uit 1966 -73.3°C/-99.9°F. Wederom valt dat vorige record “toevallig” in de vorige koude fase van de twintigste eeuw die duurde van 1940 tot 1975. Bron.

Hoe gaat het ondertussen met de sneeuw in de skigebieden op het zuidelijk halfrond?

Voor het gemak doe ik ff copy paste uit snow-forecast.com:

AUSTRALIA Lots of snow fell in many Australian resorts over the weekend. Some areas, such as Perisher (46cm) now have a large amount of terrain open and good snow conditions. Between 22nd and 24th June they received over 40cm of fresh snow which transformed the area. On Monday 25th June they were running 36 of their 47 lifts. Mt Hotham (74/85cm) has the deepest base depth of the resorts we report on. They also enjoyed a snowy weekend, with last Friday and Saturday being the snowiest. Over half a metre of snow landed on the area, which is excellent for the time of year.

NEW ZEALAND Another snow storm hit both the north and south islands in New Zealand. More than 20cm of fresh snow fell over the course of Sunday and Monday. Turoa (40cm) on the North Island received around 15cm of snow on Sunday 24th June. Their base depth is only at 40cm but they’ve got their runs in good condition, when they’re open. Bad weather forced their closure on Monday 25th June but once the weather clears the lifts should start running again. It snowed on the South Island as well. Cardrona (40cm) is now open for the season. They were a little unfortunate in that they didn’t receive as much fresh snow as most places, only managing 2cm on Sunday. However they have four of their seven lifts running already, so it’s a much better start to this season than last season.

CHILE The weekend just gone was the opening weekend at Valle Nevado (30/122cm). They’ve enjoyed a snowy start to winter so far with plenty of snow falling over the past few weeks. This has given them a great base depth for the time of year and cold weather means the snow is nice and powdery. Portillo (49/73cm) is scheduled to open this Saturday 30th June. They have twice postponed opening so far, but they’re fairly confident they’ll be able to open this Saturday. They’ve got a good base depth on the upper slopes which should allow them to open some of the easier runs in the area.

ARGENTINA Unfortunately the opening date was postponed at Chapelco (4/55cm). They’ve got a good snow base on the upper slopes but it is quite rocky terrain, so they need more than most resorts to get good cover. However Cerro Catedral (0/80cm) was more fortunate and they were able to open over the past weekend. Four lifts were said to have been running on Sunday 24th June with is fairly good for the time of year. Heavy snow is forecast from Wednesday 27th June onwards, which should help significantly.