The rhododendron in my garden is now starting to bloom in late October. I researched this and it seems that it's not unheard of and may be related to higher temperatures in the daytime and colder temperatures at night.

“The ice was so thick flowing down the river. It was forming so fast. It was freezing so fast. Just amazing. I’d never seen anything like that," one of the hunters, Rex Nick, said.

"The first snowfall of this year happened so early that the leaves on the trees had not fallen yet. The weight of the snow on top of the trees that had not shed their leaves caused the trees to incur damage."

Snow blanketed parts of Alaska’s largest city Tuesday morning, as Anchorage saw an early, though unofficial, first snowfall of the season. It's technically unofficial because none was reported at the National Weather Service’s official measuring spot on the city’s west side.

"Been a cool dry fall. The snow line hit twice in late August and once in September at the 4000 foot level. We saw 22 degrees several times in September and twice in August so general frost is in town. But no ice on shore lines so the rivers and lakes are staying warm even as the chill sets in"

The weather may be cold, but it’s too soon to get out on the river ice. The ice is forming up better than it did two years ago, when the winter was the warmest on record, but it is not freezing as fast or as well as last winter, when conditions were near-perfect.

Two bears were shot in the Haines Borough this past weekend, both by homeowners defending chickens. Although bear-related calls to the police dipped after last week’s record-setting snowfall, the recent activity suggests this year’s Bearpocalypse is not yet over.

The winds have been unusual this fall. Usually a north wind is "part and parcel of the turn of the season" but so far the wind has been "sporadic without a sense of direction."

The number of salmon returning to Chester Creek has improved since 2008. This year, spawning salmon are lingering in the creek later than usual.

Wild roses typically bloom in June and July, and go dormant when temperatures drop in the fall and winter.

Wild roses usually bloom in May and June, but warm fall temperatures may have signaled roses in Fairbanks to bloom later than usual.

A wild rose (Rosa acicularis) blooms late during a warm fall.

The Bear Patrol in is on high alert as predators are gathering by a walrus rookery. At least nine polar bears were noticed by residents of Ryrkaipiy, a village in the easternmost region of Chukotka.

Sveinbjörn Þór Sigurðsson of Búvellir farm in Aðaldalur, North Iceland says 80-90% of his hay fields were frozen in spring, and dry weather exacerbated the situation.

The northernmost iNaturalist observation (November-March) of Black-crowned Night-Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) in eastern North America.

Storm event brought high winds and flooding and landslides to Ensenada.

It was out of habit that Rachel Kukull carried foraging tools while hiking through Chilkat State Park. The custom paid off when she spotted on the forest floor a flash of gold that made her scream. Chanterelles in November!

Warm temperatures are likely causing alders and other woody Alaskan plants to bud in fall and early winter. As winter sets in, the buds are damaged and the plants will produce fewer buds come spring.

It's been a challenging year for whalers in Utqiagvik. Crews started going out in September, but found the bowheads weren't appearing in their usual concentrations in the waters closer to shore. On the water Nov. 16 Panigiuq Crew landed the first whale of the season for Utqiagvik, later than many people can remember ever bringing one in before.

As much of the Lower 48 braces for frigid weather, Anchorage-area temperatures have run some 13 degrees above normal so far this month.