Santa delivered a record-breaking summer day to the South Pole this year.
The temperature at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole research station hit 9.9°F (-12.3°C) on Dec. 25, beating the old record of 7.5°F (-13.6°C) set on Dec. 27, 1978, reported the Weather Underground.
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The low on Dec. 25 was 0°F (-17.8°C), which sounds comfy considering the lowest recorded temperature at the South Pole was -117.0°F (-82.8°C) set on June 23, 1982.
The South Pole's normal December high temperature is -15.7°F (-26.5°C). So besides the record Christmas heat wave, this has been an average December at the Pole.
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The Christmas high was caused by a tongue of warm air that pushed inland over Antarctica. Watch the infrared satellite animation here. The red square is the South Pole.
IMAGE:
Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station in the 2007-2008 summer season. In the foreground is the ceremonial South Pole and the flags for the original 12 signatory nations to Antarctic Treaty. (National Science Foundation, Wikimedia Commons)
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