The McMurdo Storm--16 May 2004--Continued



More photos of the storm damage...
snow inside the power plant
The power plant had hip-deep snow inside the building at the radiator end of the engines (#1 seen here). The radiators became packed with snow and froze up, but since the engine heat gets used to heat the buildings nowadays, this was no issue. Several power lines were knocked down, and several water lines froze up, however (from JD).
 flagging interest
In front of the Chalet, this flagpole got bent over. Also, the Coast Guard helo pad liners were swept up from the pad and wrapped around the Chalet. Perhaps this flagpole got hit by one of them (from KP).
milvans moved around
More outdoor damage--milvans, trash bins and similar loose items were tossed and rolled about (from JD and KP).
rock boxes rocked by the storm
The shelter at Derelict Junction got blown over against a truck. These rock boxes got blown around as well (from JD).
damaged Airporter
All of the windows were blown out on one side of this bus. About 30 vehicles suffered broken windows (from JD).
damaged antenna on Black Island
Black Island saw 170 mile winds, but the only damage was to this one small antenna...just so happens that this is the downlink for the AFRTS television (from DB and AP).
a before view of the AFRTS antenna radome
On another day, here's the "before" view of the same antenna (at right) a month earlier (AP).
KOA building ravaged
The KOA building survived but was well shaken up--it needs to be anchored more securely (AP).
Other Black Island damage identified on the 27 May inspection visit: shifted electrical and water lines, a small hole in the NASA dome, a broken tractor window (and the cab full of snow). The wind turbines survived without damage.
lost exitThe Mactown wastewater treatment plant had this exit door snowed up to the roof...(from JD and DB). the WWTP door from the outside






Also a bunch of snow in front of this exit. The WWTP also had some rollup door damage (from JD).
Silver City lodging destroyed
Back outside of town, Silver City had the roof blown off--it had not yet been located (from DB).
Silver City wall damage
A closer view of the collapsed side wall. This artifact from the old McMurdo berthing complex (of the same name) was a popular warming hut and weekend retreat (from DB).
a look through the missing Silver City roof
A look through the missing roof (from DB).
a snow-filled pax terminal
Down the road, the pax terminal got aired out a bit (from JD).

Scott Base was also damaged--a roof section peeled off filling a building with snow, a roll-up door was lost, windows were broken, and milvans were blown around. Perhaps the most newsworthy item to come out of the storm was the couple who were stranded in the A-frame. This story as well as the effects on Scott Base are well described and depicted by Keith Roberts in his May "Nuggies on Ice" diary entry. Other coverage can be found in this 21 June 2004 Antarctic Sun article. Scott's hut on Hut Point has also been damaged by snow infiltration, and there is concern for the other historic huts on Cape Evans and Cape Royds which have not been inspected.

Obviously I didn't take the pictures or the data. It's obviously official NSF information, received from several sources. I've indicated at least some of the source(s) or photographers where known: Dave Bresnahan (DB), Jordan Dickens (JD), Anthony Powell (AP), Kris Perry (KP), and Diamond Western (DW). Thanks!