A moose that was killed in Teller last week had been infected with rabies, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game confirmed.
The weekend was marked by cold sunny days and stunning aurora displays at night, but then the weather took another turn. By Tuesday morning, an east wind was howling and blowing snow sideways. The week started looking like a repeat of the last.
A research vessel, Norseman II, was trapped in unusually dense sea ice for 14 days off the Seward Peninsula coast during a Pacific walrus study, but is now en route to Nome for repairs.
Last week a musk ox gored a 10-year-old Malamute outside of his family’s man camp near the Old Glacier Creek Road. A visiting veterinarian cared for the injured dog commenting on more frequent conflict between musk ox and dogs and an increase in musk ox population.
A series of winter storms hit Nome with deep snow and high winds, causing school closures, flight cancellations, and significant snow removal challenges.
A city building in Little Diomede, Alaska, slid off its foundation, threatening the structural integrity of adjacent buildings and critical services, with the community seeking immediate assistance.
A storm caused shoreline erosion in Shishmaref, Alaska, but no evacuations were needed as the new seawall held and damage was minimal.
High concentrations of harmful algae called Alexandrium catenella have been detected in the Bering Strait waters near St. Lawrence Island, Wales, and Little Diomede, posing a potential danger to human health and urging caution when consuming certain seafood.
A week of several freeze and thaw cycles left Nome and the region with puddles on ice and scenes that look more like breakup in spring rather than the customary snowy landscape of December. The rain on ice interrupted normal life in Nome.
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.
By Diana Haecker
Researchers stepping off the research vessel Norseman II in Nome last weekend, brought significant news of having found very high concentrations of a phytoplankton called Alexandrium catenella in regional waters. Alexandrium is an algae that can produce saxitoxins, which can cause dangerous paralytic shellfish poisoning in people. The scientists issued an advisory, notifying Norton Sound Health Corporation, UAF Sea Grant and the Alaska Division of Public Health.
Graves at the historic St. Michael cemetery in Alaska are eroding due to increased storms and erosion, prompting an archaeologist to recover exposed remains and coordinate efforts to re-bury them. Tom Wolforth’s prime mission was to appropriately handle the remains and make sure they could be reburied. He has been working closely with the tribe and the municipality to address their concerns. One concern, Martin said, was that these exposed remains could pose a risk of disease, especially if the dead had been buried during the time of the 1918 flu pandemic. But Wolforth assured them that if properly handled this shouldn’t be a problem.
Back-to-back winter storms hit Nome and the region with very strong, screaming winds and accompanying blowing snow. While the first storm on Friday seemed just like a warm up, the second storm hit the region with very strong winds that knocked out power in Wales, ripped buildings apart in Golovin and brought water levels up 6.73 feet over normal. The high winds also pushed away ice cover.
Rockfall buries access road but stops just in front of hamlet, which had been evacuated in anticipation.
A mobile home washed away in severe flooding after Storm Hans hit Hemsedal, Norway, on Tuesday, 8 August. The extreme weather has battered parts of Scandinavia and the Baltics for several days. Rivers have overflown, roads have been damaged and people have been injured by falling branches.
Video footage shows a 30m crane tower being toppled by the severe weather in Krakow.
Avian flu has decimated the marine creatures on the country’s Pacific coastline and scientists fear it could be jumping from mammal to mammal
“Last year we got several reports from tourists and scientists that they saw around six walruses dead here on the west side of Svalbard. Unfortunately, we couldn’t sample them as the dead walruses drifted away by the time we got to the place. But it’s not normal to get so many reported dead walruses in such a small area," said Christian Lydersen, senior scientist at the Norwegian Polar Institute. Now samples (collected by a Station Manager in July 2023) have tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza.
Authorities in Siberia’s republic of Tyva declared a regional state of emergency due to ongoing wildfires exacerbated by prolonged hot and dry weather.
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