Katabatic Winds
It is listed in both the Guinness Book of World Records and the Eighth Edition of the National Geographic Atlas as the windiest place on Earth with winds regularly exceeding 240 kilometres (150 mi) per hour and an average annual wind speed of 80 kilometres (50 mi) per hour.
Storms are caused by katabatic wind, a concentrated flow of cold air moving along the steep surface of the ice shield towards the sea. The air flow is accelerated by the increasing gradient of the surface of ice and the cliff monolith at Cape Denison. In the summer there are periods of relative calm but during winter storms are especially strong and long lasting, and can start and end unexpectedly. An abrupt start and end of storm might be accompanied by powerful whirlpools and expressive short-lived and fast-moving clouds at the coast line.
In spite of the extreme weather, the coast of Commonwealth Bay is an important breeding area for Antarctic petrels, emperor penguins, and Adelie penguins.
Read more about this topic: Commonwealth Bay
Famous quotes containing the word winds:
“And such the trust that still were mine,
Though stormy winds swept o’er the brine,
Or though the tempest’s fiery breath
Roused me from sleep to wreck and death.
In ocean cave, still safe with Thee
The germ of immortality!
And calm and peaceful shall I sleep,
Rocked in the cradle of the deep.”
—Emma Hart Willard (1787–1870)