Harry evacuated from South Pole ahead of extreme storms

Prince Harry and the South Pole teams were due to fly from the South Pole to Novo airbase yesterday, December 17 , and then onto Cape Town by the end of the week.

Teams are returning to the UK on December 23, so any delay would have seen their return home before Christmas jeopardised.

In a voice blog left with expedition HQ in London, co-founder of Walking With The Wounded and Team Noom mentor, Ed Parker, said:

"Now on a very blustery, very snowy day, with a blizzard coming, we are about to fly out to, well we are about to be dragged out on the back of a skidoo to our Aleutian aircraft.

"That Aleutian aircraft will be flying us back to Cape Town, where we have a few days of decompression before returning home to our loved ones."

Read: Harry evacuated from South Pole ahead of extreme storms

An extreme storm forecast for Antarctic base Novo where Prince Harry has been staying on his South Pole trek was expected to hit within the next few hours. If the teams had been caught in the storm, the expedition's return would "certainly have been delayed," charity Walking With the Wounded said.

Catherine Murphy, a Met Office forecaster working on location at Rothera, Antarctica, with the British Antarctic Survey, said:

“An intense area of low pressure is moving towards the Novo area bringing thick cloud, some snow and winds gusting up to 40mph or more.

This could cause drifting snow or, as the winds strengthen, whiteout conditions which make travel difficult or impossible. These conditions could last for several days as the weather system moves through.”

Read: Harry reaches the South Pole

Prince Harry and his the Virgin Money South Pole Allied Challenge team have had to be evacuated from the South Pole before a forecast major Antarctic storm swept in to hit airbase Nova, where they were staying, the Charity Walking With the Wounded said.

Read: Harry reaches the South Pole

Prince Harry has said his expedition team of wounded soldiers have shared "hugs and a few tears" upon reaching the South Pole after a gruelling four-week trek across the Antarctic.

Watch his video message:

Prince Harry has "upped the ante" of royal achievements by trekking for four weeks across Antarctica as part of an expedition to reach the South Pole, his friend Ben Fogle has said.

The TV presenter and adventurer told NBC News that Harry will have "endeared himself to the whole country" by completing the charity trek and "totally transformed" the public view of the royal family.

Prince Harry's expedition team reached the South Pole earlier today at 12:48pm GMT after four weeks of trekking as part of the Virgin Money South Pole Allied Challenge.

Prince Harry has celebrated reaching the South Pole with a team of wounded adventurers following a charity expedition across Antarctica.

Prince Harry has described reaching the South Pole as an "amazing feeling" and said he was humbled by the efforts of his fellow adventurers, who have overcome various disabilities to reach the bottom of the earth.

"I’m so proud, I’m so chuffed and I’m so privileged to be here with all these guys and girls," he said in an audio recording posted on the Walking With The Wounded website, adding:

The prince signed off: "I think we’ll be having a few whiskies tonight and then everyone’s looking forward to getting home. Mission success. Cheers."

The first pictures have emerged of Prince Harry and his adventure team reaching the South Pole after a trek of more than 200 miles across Antarctica.

Prince Harry and his fellow adventurers have reached the South Pole, organisers of the Walking With The Wounded charity trek have announced.

After more than three weeks pulling sleds across the frozen wastes of Antarctica the group stood at the bottom of the world at midday.

The adventurers include 12 servicemen and women from the UK and other nations who have suffered terrible injuries, including the loss of limbs.Their trek took them more than 200 miles across the bleak continent to the geographic South Pole