Near whiteout conditions

This morning it started to snow and then the wind picked up. Soon the ice runway was classified as Condition #1. So we were stuck inside the Crary Labmost of the day. I spent part of my time catching up on my email, organizing some photos, and reviewing a paper. The McMurdo Station Guide defines the three classes of weather/travel restrictions: Condition 3 = winds less than 48 knots, wind chills warmer than -75 F, and visibility greater than 1/4 mile. This is considered the normal weather condition in McMurdo. Condition 2 = One or more of the following: wind speeds of 48-55 knots, wind chills of -75 to -100 F, or visibility of less than 1/4 mile. During Condition 2 weather you must check in and out with the Firehouse by radio prior to leaving town and upon your return. Condition 1 = Wind speeds greater than 55 knots or wind chills colder than -100 F or visibility less than 100 feet. And only mission critical travel is permitted and only with the approval of the Station Manager. Reason we had condition 1 today is that visibility was so poor due to snow storm and winds. Part of the station can be different conditions (e.g., earlier today, ice runway was condition 1 while the rest of the station was condition 2). Since our Twin Otter aircraft is parked on the ice runway, we had to wait for the weather to improve before we could go work on our instruments and start to install them onto the aircraft. Right now (11PM Saturday Night) it is beautiful out, nice and clear and sunny and very windy, but forecast says that later tonight another storm is coming through, so we are not sure we will be able to work tomorrow either. This is how it goes in polar regions. Could be worse, a bunch of guys that I few to McMurdo with were supposed to fly to the South Pole today. They are still here, and probably will not get to the pole until Monday.