Extreme precipitation event at the Ross Ice Shelf during the 1911–1912 South Pole run

Abstract

Abstract In March 1912, Captain Robert Falcon Scott and his companions perished on their return journey from the South Pole. The Final Blizzard delivered a terminal blow. However, it was only a part of this story of endurance and tragedy. In December 1911, en route to the South Pole, the men had been tent-bound for 4 days due to an exceptionally warm, wet blizzard. This article compares the meteorological situation that the polar party encountered in December 1911 to a similar situation in the modern time and suggests a possible climatology behind the 1911 event.