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The LEO Network is a worldwide network of observers and experts that share their observations of environmental change.
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Observations

Heavy Rains and Flooding
Heavy rains and flooding.
Nome, Alaska, United States

Heavy Sea Ice
Heavy sea ice observed in southeast Alaska.
Haines, Alaska, United States

Bad Ice Disrupts Subsistence
1-26-14 Ice disrupts subsistence - Unalakleet, Alaska, USA
Unalakleet, Alaska, United States

Lack of Snow
1-24-14 Lake of snow - Nanwalek, Alaska, USA
Nanwalek, Alaska, United States

No Sea Ice
No sea ice alone the northside of the Alaska Peninsula.
Port Heiden, Alaska, United States

Where is the Snow?
1-3-14 Where is the snow - Solomon, Alaska, USA
Solomon, Alaska, United States

Wind Blew Out the Ice
12-19-13 Wind blew out the ice - Elim, Alaska, USA
Elim, Alaska, United States

With warm December winds, shaken faith in Arctic weather
Folks here are famous for being able to handle the cold, but anything wet in December has always made us nervous. Especially wet falling from the sky. Lately, weather, our favorite nemesis, has broken the rules. Our confidence in the most-trustworthy feature of the Arctic -- winter -- has been wounded.
Kotzebue, Alaska, United States
Anchorage Daily News

Starvation killed 80,000 reindeer after unusual Arctic rains cut off the animals’ food supply
Sixty-one thousand reindeer starved to death in the northwestern reaches of the Russian tundra in November 2013 in the largest recorded mortality event of its kind.
Ямало-Ненецкий АО, Russia
Washington Post

Ice Fishing Hazardous
11-4-13 Ice fishing hazardous - Golovin, Alaska, USA
Golovin, Alaska, United States

Boats Still on the River
11-1-13 Boats still on the river - Koyukuk, Alaska, USA
Koyukuk, Alaska, United States

Sinkhole Appears Along Road
Sinkhole appears along road
Quinhagak, Alaska, United States

No Ice Fishing Yet
10-17-13 No ice fishing yet - Shishmaref, Alaska, USA
Shishmaref, Alaska, United States

Extreme heat wave shrinks Sweden's tallest peak by 13 feet in a month
Kebnekaise mountain in Sweden will no longer be the tallest in the country as the glacier on its highest peak melts rapidly in an unprecedented heat wave.
Kebnekaise Mountain Peak, Sweden
NBC News

Risky Ice Conditions for Whaling
6-26-13 Risky ice conditions for whaling - Barrow, Alaska, USA
Utqiagvik, Alaska, United States

Ice dam break suspected as cause of Rabbit Creek flooding
Rabbit Creek jumped its banks Friday morning on the Anchorage Hillside, washing over a bridge and prompting police to knock on doors asking people inside to evacuate.
Anchorage, Alaska, United States
Anchorage Daily News

Risky Ice for Whaling
6-5-13 Risky ice for whaling - Barrow, Alaska, USA
Utqiagvik, Alaska, United States

Erosion Disrupts Swallows
6-3-13 Erosion disrupts swallows - Evansville, Alaska, USA
Evansville, Alaska, United States

Another record-setting year for snowfall
For the second year in a row, the Anchorage area set a new snowfall record. This year it wasn’t the amount of fluffy stuff that went down in the history books — last year Anchorage had more than 11 feet — but the days between the first and last snowfall.
Anchorage, Alaska, United States
The Alaska Star

Poor Sea Ice - Our Sea Garden
The sea is our garden for food and other things.
Wales, Alaska, United States

Late Winter Storm
We are having an unseasonable snow storm in southcentral Alaska.
Anchorage, Alaska, United States

Changing Sea Ice
3-5-13 Changing sea ice - Unalakleet, Alaska, USA
Unalakleet, Alaska, United States

Creeks Choked by Ice
There is a lot of overflow and flooding happening in Anchorage area streams, as a result of the recent record rain fall.

Poor Sea Ice Changes Hunt
Lack of sea ice affects seal hunting.
Unalakleet, Alaska, United States

Trapped on Sea Ice
A snowmachiner was trapped on the quickly moving floe and he was rescued later by a helicopter.
Nome, Alaska, United States

Weather Shifting Sea Ice Flow
Unusual weather patterns are pushing the sea ice away from the coast.

Still No Snow or Yukon River Ice
11-27-12 Still no snow or Yukon ice - Fort Yukon, Alaska, USA
Fort Yukon Alaska, United States

Lake Froze Weird
Aleknagik, November 26, 2012 (ice) Our lake froze weird again this year.
Aleknagik, Alaska, United States

Air Pockets in River Ice
11-21-12 Air pockets in river ice - St. Marys, Alaska, USA
St. Marys, Alaska, United States

Anchorage Snow Totals Well Below Average
November is usually the second snowiest month in Anchorage, but this year, snow totals are well below average. So far, only about three inches of snow has fallen in the city. November usually sees an average of seven inches by now, with a total of a little more than 13 inches for the month. National Weather Service Meteorologist Dave Snider says total snowfall for the season is also well below normal.
Alaska Public Media

No Snow on the Seward Peninsula
Despite the time of year, there is still no snow on the Seward Peninsula.
Elim, Alaska, United States

Late Snow Fall
Late snow seasonal snow fall
Koyukuk, Alaska, United States

Heat wave across Interior
6-17-12 Heat wave across Interior - Galena, Alaska, USA
Galena, Alaska, United States

Ice Departure Delayed
Sea ice conditions making it difficult for community to harvest seasonal fish.

Anchorage, Alaska sets new snow record
To say Alaska has been snowy this winter is an understatement. Anchorage broke a 57 year old snowfall record Saturday when a storm produced 4.3 inches of snow on Saturday, April 7, 2012.
EarthSky

Falling ice traps driver, closes highway
A woman was trapped in a pickup on the Seward Highway on Friday after falling ice crushed the vehicle just south of Anchorage.
Anchorage Daily News

Aleutian Avalanche
3-20-12 Aleutian avalanche - Akutan, Alaska, USA
Akutan, Alaska, United States

Unusually large ice formation next to highway
The ice formation along the Seward Highway grabbed my interest because it stood out and was rather unusual.
LEO Network

Ice formation on cliffs
3-17-12 Ice formation on cliffs - Anchorage, Alaska, USA
Anchorage, Alaska, USA

Pressure ice ridges
2-22-12 Pressure ice ridges "Vuneqs" - Kwigillingok, Alaska, USA
Kwigillingok, Alaska, USA

Late Freeze-up
Late freeze-up of sea ice along the shoreline
Elim, Alaska, United States

Worst blizzard in years blasts Saskatchewan
Blizzard conditions paralyzed Saskatoon and many other communities Wednesday as a fierce storm scoured the central part of the province, closing roads, airports and schools.
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
CBC

Rain falls at Greenland ice summit for first time on record
Rain fell at the highest point on the Greenland ice sheet last week for the first time on record, another worrying sign of warming for the ice sheet already melting at an increasing rate, scientists said on Friday.
Summit Camp
Reuters

UK's 'longest-lasting' snow patch melts away
Dubbed the Sphinx, the snow on a remote Scottish mountain has in the past survived for decades at a time.
Aviemore, Scotland, United Kingdom
BBC News

Climate change: Lapland reindeer gone astray in search for food
Herders are struggling to find thousands of reindeer that have run away in search of food. "We are driving for hours and hours to locate our reindeers and to herd them back, but it has been very difficult in these wintry conditions. So, we are also using helicopters and this is very unusual - and very expensive too."
Muonio, Lapland, Finland
BBC News

Tundra is ablaze in Magadan region in out-of-season wildfire, complicated by wind and zero snow
The wildfire started in a temperature of minus 20C, and is proving hard to extinguish because firemen cannot get water from frozen lakes and rivers. Normally the ground would be under thick snow by this time of year; this November several areas of eastern Russia, like its coldest territory Yakutia, say they are short of snow.
Arman', Magadan, Russia
Siberian Times

Ice thickness below normal for early January while temperatures and snowfall are above normal
While ice thickness normally measures between 11 and 22 inches on local lakes and ponds, ice thickness recently ranged between 9 and 19 inches, according to the National Weather Service’s ice thickness measurements.
Fairbanks, Alaska, United States
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

No one hurt after second Anchorage roof collapses in a week
The incidents happened after another bout of heavy snow, and as municipal building officials mailed out warnings to owners that their buildings could be at risk.

Canada's AG warns Nunavut about dangers of not having a climate change action plan
Nunavut is not prepared to deal with the impacts of climate change and doesn't have a plan to deal with them, according to the latest report by Canada's auditor general.
Iqaluit, Nunavut, Canada
CBC News

Snow on strike in the world’s coldest region, as temperatures in Siberia go 4 to 12C above the norm
Locals in southern Yakutia share surprise over bare ground, as Russia’s leading meteorologist says some areas of Siberia are 12C too mild.
Olyokminsk, Sakha, Russia
Siberian Times

High winds cause Alaska Airlines jet to slide on icy Dillingham runway
On Sunday, a gust of wind unexpectedly hit an Alaska Airlines jet on the Dillingham runway as it was preparing to taxi from the terminal, causing it to slide on the icy tarmac.
Dillingham, Alaska, United States
Bristol Bay Times

Climate change forces removal of historic mountain hut
A historic site in Yoho National Park will be dismantled and removed this spring because of effects caused by climate change, Parks Canada announced Thursday.
Abbot Pass Refuge Cabin National Historic Site
CBC

‘Receding before our eyes:’ Vancouver Island glaciers likely to be all gone by mid-century
Retired logger Fred Fern has been taking photos of the Comox Glacier every year since 2013, and the receding ice mass is easy to see in the images. Using Google Earth, Fern has calculated the Comox Glacier lost 15 vertical feet after this summer’s heat — and as much as 120 vertical feet since his first photo in 2013.
vancouversun

Lack of snow adds to training challenge for Yukon Quest musher
In less than a month, the Yukon Quest will get underway in Whitehorse. But one first-time entrant says she hasn't touched her dog sled at all yet, because of the unusual weather conditions.
Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada
CBC

Yukon Energy wants to lower Marsh Lake to reduce summer flood risk
Yukon Energy is again asking for permission this year to lower the level of Marsh Lake, in anticipation of possible flooding this summer.
Marsh Lake, Yukon, Canada

North Slope communities are seeing more polar bears this year
From Point Hope to Kaktovik, North Slope communities saw anywhere from 10 to 15 bears in each village this winter. For the most part, bears are not going into the villages, but in some cases, they come close enough for people to take photos and sometimes, people come too close.
Point Hope, Alaska, United States
Alaska Media, LLC., Steve Keller designer and application developer

Avalanche leaves up to 80 feet of snow on upper Hiland Road in Eagle River but no homes hit
About 145 customers in the area were without power on Friday due to damaged equipment, according to Matanuska Electric Association. It’ll likely be at least several days before the road may be cleared.
Eagle River, Alaska, United States

Norman Wells and Tulita, N.W.T., won't get barge deliveries this year
The N.W.T.'s Marine Transportation Services has announced it is cancelling barges to Norman Wells and Tulita due to low water levels.
Norman Wells, Northwest Territories, Canada

What Greenland’s record-breaking rain means for the planet
For three days this month, 7 billion tonnes of rain fell across Greenland — the largest amount since records began in 1950. It’s also the first time since then that rain, not snow, fell on Greenland’s highest peak.
Greenland Summit Camp
ArcticToday

Unusually Thick Sea Ice to Make for Challenging Shipping on Northern Sea Route This Summer
Unusual amounts of multiyear ice in the Laptev and Siberian Sea could lead to difficult summer navigation along parts of Russia’s Northern Sea Route this summer, says the country’s Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute.
Siberian Sea, Russia
High North News

Ice Out: How N.H.'s rite of spring has become a symbol of climate change
Ice is a key player not only in the culture of the northern Northeast, but also in its unique lake ecosystems – a determinant of everything from water temperature to aquatic food chains to water quality. And according to long-term climate data, ice-out has been moving earlier and earlier.
Center Harbor, New Hampshire, United States
Yahoo News

Up to a foot of snow could fall on Anchorage Hillside through Friday morning
Snowfall amounts in the Anchorage Bowl could range from 3 inches on the east side to nothing on the west side, the Weather Service said.

Researchers try packing down snow to preserve permafrost in N.W.T.
A permafrost scientist in the N.W.T. is leading an experiment that compacts snow near the Inuvik-Tuktoyaktuk Highway to see if that will slow down permafrost thaw and protect buildings and roads built atop it.
Inuvik, Northwest Territories, Canada

Heavy snow in Interior Alaska this winter has bison hanging out on plowed roads and digging up farmland
Bulldozer crews have cleared trails and fields for the bison in hopes of reducing the danger of collisions and damaged fields. There's a layer of ice up to two inches thick within the snowpack that has further complicated foraging.
Delta Junction, Alaska, United States

Fort McPherson, N.W.T., declares emergency as flooding threatens access to drinking water
The hamlet said it's declaring a state of emergency because flooding from the Peel River cut off access to the community's airport, and because access to fresh water could be "inaccessible in the imminent future."
Fort McPherson, Northwest Territories, Canada

Ice jam floods Buckland
The Arctic Sounder - Serving the Northwest Arctic and the North Slope
Buckland, Alaska, United States
Arctic Sounder

As Fort Simpson, N.W.T., ferry crossing opens for the season, low water levels worry mayor
Sean Whelly the mayor of Fort Simpson is worried that low water levels could impact the ferry’s ability to operate, potentially leaving the community isolated in the summer months.The water levels are the lowest he's ever seen at this time of year.
Fort Simpson, Northwest Territories, Canada

Yukon Southern Lakes residents in 'emergency mode' as water levels rise
Residents in Yukon's Southern Lakes region are bracing for the worst as water levels continue to creep dangerously high.
Marsh Lake, Yukon, Canada

North Saskatchewan River Turns Blue
The river, which starts at the Saskatchewan Glacier in the Columbia Icefields and flows through to central Saskatchewan, is usually murky brown by the time it reaches Edmonton in summer. In recent weeks, however, the water has taken on the hues of Alberta's glacial lakes, thanks to dry, hot weather combined with maintenance at a major dam.
North Saskatchewan River, Alberta, Canada

Winter storm lashes East Coast with deep snow, high winds
Parts of 10 states and some major population centers — including Philadelphia, New York and Boston — were pummeled by the storm.
Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Associate Press

Warm weather in Alaska highlights risk climate change poses to future Arctic Winter Games
After a warm Arctic Winter Games in Alaska, some officials and coaches have suggested moving the games up from March to February in an effort to ensure that temperatures are cold enough for winter sports.
Palmer, Alaska, United States

Russian Mission airport partly reopens after Yukon River flooding triggers emergency helicopter mission
In the village of about 400, outgoing winter ice dams triggered flooding tha shut down the low-lying runway for 11 days.
Russian Mission, Alaska, United States

Another year of shrinking glaciers predicted in Sweden's far north
But first tests show very little new snow cover on the glacier from this past winter: ”The snow depth was only 1.2 metres — we had at least double that amount in previous years,” says Nina Kirchner, director of the Tarfala research station.
Kebnekaise Mountains

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