468 
SCOTT'S LAST EXPEDITION 
frequently met with. In fact if one had the whole of 
the Framheim curve and only the first part of that for 
Cape Evans — as far as winds of 14 miles an hour — one 
would say they were similar and would complete the 
Cape Evans curve along the thin dotted line indicated 
in the figure, making it run parallel with the other two 
curves. 
But that would be assuming that there was nothing 
abnormal in the region in which Cape Evans was situated, 
and that the winds were governed by the same laws as 
at Framheim. The real curve does not follow this ideal 
curve, but takes an entirely different shape. The fre- 
quency of winds greater than 15 miles an hour does not 
decrease with the velocity, for all winds with velocities 
between 15 miles an hour and 34 miles an hour occur 
with practically the same frequency. It is not until we 
reach higher velocities than 35 miles an hour that a 
decrease in frequency accompanies an increase in velocity. 
This shape of the curve indicates that there is some 
factor affecting the winds at Cape Evans which is not 
present at a normal station. 
This factor is the blizzard. Superimposed upon the 
normal winds are the blizzard winds having velocities 
varying from 10 miles an hour up to over 60, in con- 
sequence of which high winds occur with a frequency 
out of all proportion to what would have occurred if 
there had been no blizzards. 
Thus the shape of the wind curve for Cape Evans 
shows clearly that the blizzard is an abnormal phenomenon 
superposed upon the ordinary meteorological conditions, 
