How much rain and snow does Palmer Station receive?
A. You may have heard that Antarctica is the world’s ‘driest desert’. Although that’s true for most of the continent, maritime conditions on the western side of the Antarctic Peninsula bring a significant amount of precipitation (snow or rain). Most of the precipitation in the winter occurs as snow, whereas about the same amount of rain and snow fall in the summer. Palmer Station receives an average of 29.3 inches (742 mm) of precipitation (rain and melted snow) a year. Sources: Domack, E., A. Leventer, A. Burnett, R. Bindschadler, P. Convey, and M. Kirby, editors. 2003. Antarctic Peninsula Climate Variability: Historical and Paleoenvironmental Perspectives. Volume 79: Antarctic Research Series. American Geophysical Union, Washington, D.C. McGonigal, D. and L. Woodworth, editors. 2003. Antarctica: The Blue Continent. Firefly Books, Toronto, Ontario.
