with the highest temperature recorded being in 1987. However, when this occurs, the weather is stormy and cloudy with reduced visibility. In contrast, when low pressure systems pass to the north, it results in cold and dry conditions with good visibility, causing temperatures to fall to . Fog is a frequent occurrence in the base, averaging 110 days. This can vary from year to year with 1987 being the foggiest year when there were 252 days with fog to only 30 days with fog in 1963. Being located in the path of low pressure systems throughout the year, the base experiences high cloud cover, particularly in summer. December and January are the cloudiest months, averaging 29 cloudy days each month. Winters are less cloudy, averaging 20 cloudy days in June and July. Clear days are extremely rare and are only occur between May to October, averaging 1–3 days. As a result, the base only averages 483.0 hours of sunshine per year or 13.5% of possible sunshine (possibly the lowest on earth), ranging from a low of 9.3% in January to a high of 22.5% in August. December and January are the least windy months, averaging while August and September are the windiest months, averaging more than . The base is subjected to strong winds throughout the year, with each month averaging 20 days with strong winds (wind speeds above ). Occasionally, it can experience gusts above . The average annual precipitation is , which is fairly evenly distributed throughout the year. March is the wettest month while June is the driest month. Due to the cold climate and high humidity, snowfall occurs frequently throughout the year. Based on the 1961–1990 period, the base averages 227 days with snow, with February having the least days with snow (averaging 14 days with snow) and May having the most days with snow (averaging 22 days). Lighthouse Orcadas Base is the site of the Destacamento Lighthouse, a navigation light mounted on a communications tower. It is maintained by the Argentine Navy. See also Argentine Antarctica List of Antarctic expeditions List of lighthouses in Antarctica List of Antarctic research stations List of Antarctic field camps References External links COMNAP Antarctic Facilities COMNAP Antarctic Facilities Map William S. Bruce Argentine Antarctic Stations Fundaciòn Marambio Orcadas Base page Outposts of Antarctica Argentine Antarctica British Antarctic Territory Laurie Island Geography of the South Orkney Islands 1903 meteorology 1903