Climate and Average Weather Year Round at Teniente R. Marsh Airport Antarctica

At Teniente R. Marsh Airport, the summers are very cold, the winters are freezing and snowy, and it is extremely windy and overcast year round. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 18°F to 37°F and is rarely below 4°F or above 40°F.

The warm season lasts for 3.0 months, from December 18 to March 20, with an average daily high temperature above 35°F. The hottest month of the year at Teniente R. Marsh Airport is February, with an average high of 37°F and low of 33°F.

The cold season lasts for 3.3 months, from June 1 to September 10, with an average daily high temperature below 28°F. The coldest month of the year at Teniente R. Marsh Airport is July, with an average low of 18°F and high of 26°F.

At Teniente R. Marsh Airport, the average percentage of the sky covered by clouds experiences mild seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year at Teniente R. Marsh Airport begins around October 20 and lasts for 5.6 months, ending around April 7.

The clearest month of the year at Teniente R. Marsh Airport is December, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 24% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around April 7 and lasts for 6.4 months, ending around October 20.

The cloudiest month of the year at Teniente R. Marsh Airport is August, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 88% of the time.

A wet day is one with at least 0.04 inches of liquid or liquid-equivalent precipitation. The chance of wet days at Teniente R. Marsh Airport varies throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 3.9 months, from January 13 to May 8, with a greater than 33% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days at Teniente R. Marsh Airport is March, with an average of 12.3 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 8.1 months, from May 8 to January 13. The month with the fewest wet days at Teniente R. Marsh Airport is December, with an average of 8.5 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

Among wet days, we distinguish between those that experience rain alone, snow alone, or a mixture of the two. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation at Teniente R. Marsh Airport changes throughout the year.

Snow alone is the most common for 6.0 months, from May 6 to November 6. The month with the most days of snow alone at Teniente R. Marsh Airport is August, with an average of 7.2 days.

Rain alone is the most common for 5.0 months, from November 24 to April 26. The month with the most days of rain alone at Teniente R. Marsh Airport is February, with an average of 9.9 days.

Mixed snow and rain is the most common for 4.0 weeks, from April 26 to May 6 and from November 6 to November 24. The month with the most days of mixed snow and rain at Teniente R. Marsh Airport is November, with an average of 3.6 days.

Rainfall

To show variation within the months and not just the monthly totals, we show the rainfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day of the year. Teniente R. Marsh Airport experiences significant seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 7.0 months, from October 27 to May 26, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The month with the most rain at Teniente R. Marsh Airport is February, with an average rainfall of 2.1 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 5.0 months, from May 26 to October 27. The month with the least rain at Teniente R. Marsh Airport is August, with an average rainfall of 0.2 inches.

Snowfall

As with rainfall, we consider the snowfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day of the year. Teniente R. Marsh Airport experiences extreme seasonal variation in monthly snowfall.

The snowy period of the year lasts for 11 months, from January 26 to January 6, with a sliding 31-day snowfall of at least 1.0 inches. The month with the most snow at Teniente R. Marsh Airport is July, with an average snowfall of 13.8 inches.

The snowless period of the year lasts for 2.8 weeks, from January 6 to January 26. The least snow falls around January 15, with an average total accumulation of 0.9 inches.

The length of the day at Teniente R. Marsh Airport varies extremely over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is June 20, with 5 hours, 4 minutes of daylight; the longest day is December 21, with 19 hours, 51 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 2:57 AM on December 17, and the latest sunrise is 7 hours, 28 minutes later at 10:25 AM on June 22. The earliest sunset is at 3:29 PM on June 18, and the latest sunset is 7 hours, 21 minutes later at 10:50 PM on December 24.

Daylight saving time (DST) is not observed at Teniente R. Marsh Airport during 2024.

The figure below presents a compact representation of key lunar data for 2024. The horizontal axis is the day, the vertical axis is the hour of the day, and the colored areas indicate when the moon is above the horizon. The vertical gray bars (new Moons) and blue bars (full Moons) indicate key Moon phases.

We base the humidity comfort level on the dew point, as it determines whether perspiration will evaporate from the skin, thereby cooling the body. Lower dew points feel drier and higher dew points feel more humid. Unlike temperature, which typically varies significantly between night and day, dew point tends to change more slowly, so while the temperature may drop at night, a muggy day is typically followed by a muggy night.

The perceived humidity level at Teniente R. Marsh Airport, as measured by the percentage of time in which the humidity comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable, does not vary significantly over the course of the year, remaining a virtually constant 0% throughout.

This section discusses the wide-area hourly average wind vector (speed and direction) at 10 meters above the ground. The wind experienced at any given location is highly dependent on local topography and other factors, and instantaneous wind speed and direction vary more widely than hourly averages.

The average hourly wind speed at Teniente R. Marsh Airport experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 7.2 months, from April 9 to November 14, with average wind speeds of more than 17.6 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year at Teniente R. Marsh Airport is September, with an average hourly wind speed of 19.8 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 4.8 months, from November 14 to April 9. The calmest month of the year at Teniente R. Marsh Airport is January, with an average hourly wind speed of 15.1 miles per hour.

The predominant average hourly wind direction at Teniente R. Marsh Airport is from the west throughout the year.

Teniente R. Marsh Airport is located near a large body of water (e.g., ocean, sea, or large lake). This section reports on the wide-area average surface temperature of that water.

The average water temperature experiences some seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The time of year with warmer water lasts for 2.6 months, from December 31 to March 19, with an average temperature above 33°F. The month of the year at Teniente R. Marsh Airport with the warmest water is February, with an average temperature of 34°F.

The time of year with cooler water lasts for 5.0 months, from May 31 to October 31, with an average temperature below 30°F. The month of the year at Teniente R. Marsh Airport with the coolest water is August, with an average temperature of 29°F.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is at Teniente R. Marsh Airport throughout the year, we compute two travel scores.

The tourism score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 65°F and 80°F.

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 75°F and 90°F.

Methodology

For each hour between 8:00 AM and 9:00 PM of each day in the analysis period (1980 to 2016), independent scores are computed for perceived temperature, cloud cover, and total precipitation. Those scores are combined into a single hourly composite score, which is then aggregated into days, averaged over all the years in the analysis period, and smoothed.

Our cloud cover score is 10 for fully clear skies, falling linearly to 9 for mostly clear skies, and to 1 for fully overcast skies.

Our precipitation score, which is based on the three-hour precipitation centered on the hour in question, is 10 for no precipitation, falling linearly to 9 for trace precipitation, and to 0 for 0.04 inches of precipitation or more.

Our tourism temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 50°F, rising linearly to 9 for 65°F, to 10 for 75°F, falling linearly to 9 for 80°F, and to 1 for 90°F or hotter.

Our beach/pool temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 65°F, rising linearly to 9 for 75°F, to 10 for 82°F, falling linearly to 9 for 90°F, and to 1 for 100°F or hotter.

Definitions of the growing season vary throughout the world, but for the purposes of this report, we define it as the longest continuous period of non-freezing temperatures (≥ 32°F) in the year (the calendar year in the Northern Hemisphere, or from July 1 until June 30 in the Southern Hemisphere).

Temperatures at Teniente R. Marsh Airport are sufficiently cold year round that it is not entirely meaningful to discuss the growing season in these terms. We nevertheless include the chart below as an illustration of the distribution of temperatures experienced throughout the year.

Growing degree days are a measure of yearly heat accumulation used to predict plant and animal development, and defined as the integral of warmth above a base temperature, discarding any excess above a maximum temperature. In this report, we use a base of 50°F and a cap of 86°F.

This section discusses the total daily incident shortwave solar energy reaching the surface of the ground over a wide area, taking full account of seasonal variations in the length of the day, the elevation of the Sun above the horizon, and absorption by clouds and other atmospheric constituents. Shortwave radiation includes visible light and ultraviolet radiation.

The average daily incident shortwave solar energy experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The brighter period of the year lasts for 2.4 months, from November 14 to January 26, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 4.0 kWh. The brightest month of the year at Teniente R. Marsh Airport is December, with an average of 4.8 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 5.0 months, from April 4 to September 5, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 1.0 kWh. The darkest month of the year at Teniente R. Marsh Airport is June, with an average of 0.1 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Teniente R. Marsh Airport are -62.191 deg latitude, -58.987 deg longitude, and 0 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Teniente R. Marsh Airport contains significant variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 548 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 33 feet. Within 10 miles contains significant variations in elevation (1,841 feet). Within 50 miles contains very significant variations in elevation (5,322 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Teniente R. Marsh Airport is covered by artificial surfaces (0%), within 10 miles by artificial surfaces (0%), and within 50 miles by artificial surfaces (0%).