The openings were left after ice-in started during a cold snap, but didn’t quite finish in the deepest parts of the lake, about a quarter of a mile off shore. The two loons were stuck and unable to take off, because common loons require a water “runway” to push off and get airborne. Farther up the lake, three other loons were stuck in similar fashion.

Extreme winds and cold temperatures have affected the areas. At one point over the weekend, 20,000 households in Mat-Su lost power. 

Department of Transportation crews are battling a thick coating of ice on roads, and the local utility, Golden Valley Electric, continues working to restore electricity to pockets of customers.

Spring like thaw a week after winter begins: During the 3 days it got warm and the water going its usual route as it does in the spring when it thaws out, but this was a week after winter began.

Kodiak residents went to the trails on Sunday, taking advantage of record-breaking high temperatures. The Kodiak Airport reported temperatures reached 65 degrees that day, the warmest temperature ever recorded in Kodiak between Oct. 5 and April 21 of any year.

Strong south winds hit 71 miles per hour in St. Michael, Shishmaref had its sea ice blown away and the Nome Airport saw 0.64 inches of precipitation – mostly in the form of rain - last weekend. The storm that hit on Saturday, Dec. 18 and continued all day Sunday brought the total precipitation for December thus far to 2.04 inches.

“This new snow has no name,” said Lars-Anders Kuhmunen, a reindeer herder from Kiruna, Sweden’s northernmost town, near the Norwegian border. “I don’t know what it is. It is like early tjaevi, which normally comes in March. The winters are warmer now and there is rain, making the ground icy. The snow on top is very bad snow and the reindeer can’t dig for their food.”

Unalakleet’s supply of water was running on empty following a nasty freeze-up at the end of December. Freezing rain led to a frozen pool of standing water that shifted the community’s pump house before the New Year. This dropped the flow of water into the water tank and levels were down to two feet earlier the first week of January.

The sea temperatures around Iceland have been higher than the average for the past 20 years, and the sea around the whole country has become more acidic, according to data recorded by the Marine Research Institute.

Preliminary numbers say this was the largest cold-stunning event in recorded U.S. history.

Ever since the first major snowfall this year, there have been warnings of avalanche danger in northern Norway. However, the recent cold period makes the area extra exposed. The avalanche that seriously injured a man on Kistrand was a "slippery avalanche", which differs relatively distinctly from an "ordinary" avalanche.

A sleepy giant panda at Beijing Zoo in Beijing, China, on Feb. 2021, the day after the capital city saw the high temperature record for winter shattered by 10 degrees. Temperatures have been on a roller coaster across China this winter.

Coastal seabirds have experienced significant die-offs in Western Alaska the past few years. But recent results suggest that offshore birds are also feeling the impact of low ice and warming ocean temperatures in the Bering Sea.

Record-low levels of sea ice cover in the Gulf of St. Lawrence means a greater number of seals are coming on shore and are more likely to interact with humans.

There was heavy rainfall yesterday across the region. Rain combined with thawing snow and above-freezing temperatures are conditions that increase the likelihood of landslides. The evacuation from six streets was called “precautionary” as authorities are still evaluating whether the slope was destabilized following December landslides.

Millions of people are still living a nightmare scenario of arctic cold, snow or ice with little to no power. There will be little time Tuesday before the next blast of winter weather compounds the situation. 

Colorado Springs set new record-low temperatures, breaking marks set 126 years ago, for both Sunday and Monday as a wave of Arctic cold swept through the state over the weekend.

Very heavy rain has affected South and East Iceland throughout Sunday and overnight. An area of Seyðisfjörður has been evacuated and road closures were announced in three places due to an avalanche, an ice flood, and a downed power line.

This year's seasonal ice cover is the lowest in its 51-year recorded history say forecasters with the Canadian Ice Service.

Firefighters extinguished fires on Benbecula and Harris as they warn of extreme risk. SFRS said the fires had broken out in vegetation that had died off since last year and then been dried out by frost and low temperatures.