Monday 16 January 2012

Piteraq in Kuummiut - Greenland at its best and worst

From Carl Skou's Kuummiut blog, I got this amazingly beautiful video:
(listen to the atmospheric music)



A violent Piteraq storm strikes Kuummiut village in March 2011. The Piteraq is a katabatic wind. Intensely cold heavy air drains off the Greenland ice cap. The cold descending air is channelled through the valleys and can blow at 40-80 metres per second. The Piteraq is characterised by deep blue skies, intense sunlight, clear dry air and much blowing snow which can obscure visibility. Most people stay indoors during a Piteraq. This Piteraq followed a period of overcast weather and heavy snowfall. The Piteraq strips the snow from the land and breaks up the fjord pack ice.