Editing Commonwealth Bay (section)

==Katabatic wind==
Commonwealth Bay is listed in both the ''[[Guinness Book of World Records]]'' and the Eighth Edition of the ''[[National Geographic (magazine)|National Geographic]] [[Atlas]]'' as the windiest place on Earth, with winds regularly exceeding {{convert|240|km}} per hour and an average annual wind speed of {{convert|80|km}} per hour.

Storms are caused by [[katabatic wind]], a concentrated flow of cold air moving along the steep surface of the ice shield towards the sea.  The air flow is accelerated by the increasing gradient of the surface of ice and the cliff monolith at [[Cape Denison]]. In the summer there are periods of relative calm, but in the winter storms are especially strong and long lasting, and can start and end unexpectedly. An abrupt start and end to a storm might be accompanied by powerful whirlpools, and by expressive short-lived and fast-moving clouds along the coast line.<ref>{{citation |first = F.K. |last = Ball |title = The Katabatic Winds of Adelie Land and King George V Land. |date = 1956}}</ref>

Despite the extreme weather, the coast of the Bay is an important breeding area for [[Antarctic petrel]]s, [[emperor penguin]]s, and [[Adelie penguin]]s, which are preyed on by [[leopard seals]].