Facing "force six or seven" winds with heavy drift on the morning of 11 January 1911, Scott and company retreated to the hut to focus on finishing the interior. (Journals, p. 86-87, Carrol & Graf [1996]). There wasn't much more to report that day, except that later in the day, as the weather improved, good progress was made on digging-out an ice-cave for the company's larder.
Scott's journal reference to "force six" winds draws on the Beufort Wind Force Scale. It's hard to know, with the evolution of the scale and its local variation, exactly what kind of weather chased Scott and his men into the hut that day, but a "moderate gale" with winds near 40 mph seems a possibility. The highest winds recorded at Australia's Antarctic Mawson Station registered just under 200 mph. The contrast - and the storm's quick passing - raises questions about Scott's characterization of it as a "blizzard." He would face worse.
Robert Falcon Scott's South Pole @ 100
