Surface Waters / Wetlands | 6 | ||
Weather | 5 | ||
Plants / Kelp | 4 | ||
Land | 2 | ||
Birds | 2 | ||
Fish | 2 | ||
Land Mammals | 2 | ||
Ocean / Sea | 1 | ||
Marine Mammals | 1 | ||
Invertebrates | 1 |
2023 | 22 |
Autumn colors have been quite delayed this year, maybe ten days to two weeks later than "usual"
Above normal temperatures in the month of November followed by a series of storms makes varying ice conditions.
The Merbok storm of 2022 impacted the Old Russian Cemetery in Saint Michael. This cemetery was created in the 1830s when the northernmost outpost of the Russian American Company was established in that village. People were interred in that cemetery for about 100 years. The cemetery is on a 30 foot high bluff overlooking the bay.
River erosion is impacting the road and requiring the replacement of health infrastructure.
Four dead seals have washed up on a beach in Trinidad, California, with locals noting an unusual occurrence as they have not seen this many washed up at once in recent years.
An unusual visitor showed up in King Cove in late November. Shankell Mack was able to get a picture. The great egret is rare sighting anywhere in Alaska.
Invasive Elodea has been observed since 2020.
Elodea found on and near Eielson Airforce Base
Invasive elodea decade history in the Chena slough with mitigation and persistent infestation.
A winter storm in Anchorage and Mat-Su, Alaska has caused closures of state offices, schools, and bus services, with reports of stranded vehicles and accidents, and up to a foot of snow expected in some areas.
With Anchorage schools remote again due to a 17-inch snowfall and strong winds, another storm is hitting Southcentral Alaska, potentially causing power outages as trees fall on electric lines.
The Kenai River has been running high ever since two glacier dammed lakes emptied into the river over the last few days. In the Kenai Keys subdivision near Sterling, the river is lapping at the doorsteps of the hundred or so homes that line the river. Longtime resident Frank Turpin said although he’s seen worse flooding, this one is significant. The road leading into the gated subdivision is flooded in numerous places although some vehicles can still make it through. Neighbors who live on higher ground have offered their yards for people wishing to store cars or other items until the waters recede.
A storm caused shoreline erosion in Shishmaref, Alaska, but no evacuations were needed as the new seawall held and damage was minimal.
Remnants of Typhoon Bolaven brought the rain from the Pacific. The typhoon has been bringing rain to the Southeast region for days. Ketchikan's one-day record is nearly nine inches, set on Oct. 11, 1977.
“There is some concern with the stability of the cliffside there and some additional material that appears like it might be coming down also, so we have barricaded the area off,” Wetor says. “Right now things are pretty unstable there. And I think we need to give it some space and let it do its thing.”
A landslide in Wrangell, Alaska, killed three people, destroyed homes, and left three missing after heavy rainfall triggered the disaster.
More than a dozen states, including several in the Pacific Northwest, are reporting outbreaks of a new respiratory illness. There have also been increases in canine respiratory illness cases at a clinic in Southeast Alaska and another in Southcentral, but there’s no indication yet if those were due to the mystery illness.
In Dillingham, Alaska, 19 cases of avian flu have been identified in common murres, with the virus still present in wild birds and genetic testing being conducted to determine if it is a new strain or a strain circulating in North America.
The Western Arctic Caribou Herd has been declining for years, and the migration patterns of the animals have been changing. In several locations in Northwest Alaska, caribou have been arriving later and later in the season. Friday last week, people in Kotzebue finally started seeing caribou — hundreds of them ― crossing the Kotzebue Sound north of town, coming from the Noatak riverside. Ice conditions are one of the reasons for the caribou’s late migration, said Thomas Baker, chair of the Northwest Arctic Subsistence Regional Advisory Council.
Hunters in Central Southeast Alaska have reported a record harvest of 141 bulls during the month-long moose hunt, surpassing the previous record of 132 bulls set in 2021, with the majority of the harvest occurring on Kupreanof Island. A couple decades ago, there were very few of them in the region — and the hunt was almost entirely relegated to the mainland. But over the years, he said he’s seen more moose cropping up on remote islands.
Scientists from the University of Alaska Fairbanks have observed an increase in chum salmon spawning in North Slope rivers, potentially indicating a shift in their population and a signal of climate change. Elizabeth Lindley, a Ph.D. student working on the project, says that while evidence of spawning in a new region may be a positive for salmon, the impact on important subsistence resources including Arctic char and Dolly Varden is uncertain.
The snow crab harvest in Alaska has been canceled for the second year in a row due to concerns about population sustainability, but red king crab and Tanner crab will be available for commercial fishermen this season. Last year was the first time in history the U.S. snow crab fishery was closed. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game said the harvests were closed over concerns about long-term conservation and the sustainability of crab stocks.