Michael Hamilton, who worked at Valdez Heli-Ski Guides, died Monday in one of numerous avalanches that have been occurring in the Southcentral Alaska backcountry recently. Several recent large wet slab avalanches reported throughout the Chugach are believed to be connected to a buried crust that formed around late October, she said. A warm storm system last week also weakened the snowpack because it added weight and heat.

"Now I have seen the current muddy at break up but usually after prolonged warming and winds. This one is about a month ahead of the game."

No residents had been reported injured or missing, and power had been restored to most impacted homes. City officials had also carved a path so residents can travel in the area by snowmachine.

Auto shops are seeing more business because of damaged tires, and drivers are often inching through a messy maze of bad road conditions. Road crews are making headway but still catching up from unfavorable weather last month.

It went through thin ice near the Tasmania Islands, in Franklin Strait, while the group was retracing its route back to Cambridge Bay,

"We used to have snowmobile races on the ocean ice in front of Elim during the first weekend in April but we cannot have any races this year."

The Yukon, Tanana, Koyukuk, Kuskokwim and Susitna basins all have more snowpack than usual — and some are well above normal.

I have been speaking with elders in the community and they have never before seen the river break up that soon.

First trucks made week-long pitstop on river bank due to overflow on newly completed winter road. On the first attempt to cross the overflow, a truck’s front tires went through approximately eight inches and the vehicle had to be towed out, in the report. No one was hurt, and there was no damage done.

A steel-framed building was broken apart by wind in Hafnarfjörður on Friday, search & rescue teams attended over a hundred call-outs, and Hellisheiði and other important roads were closed once more. February was one of the coldest and windiest for many years.

The melt season for Arctic sea ice is underway after the annual maximum extent was reached late last month. Sea ice extent reached its annual maximum on Feb. 25, 15 days earlier than the 1981-2010 average date and one of the earliest dates for that milestone in the four-decade satellite record.

The main Bering Sea ice pack has begun its retreat to the north after extending to the Pribilofs earlier this month. This winter’s freeze-up has been reminiscent of more historical sea ice conditions.

A winter storm caused power outages and property damage across Iceland. Winds reached speeds of 40 meters per second (89 mph) in the Southwest region, though precipitation was less than forecasted. See related article: A total of ten waves of 25 meters high and four waves over 30 meters high were recorded. A 40 m wave was the highest recorded since 1990.

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.

Cold on the Peninsula! Cabin owner on Kenai River near Soldotna says they have not seen it frozen like this in years.

With millions of dollars in damage to a new health clinic and imperiled infrastructure, the borough is requesting help from the National Guard. Yakutat has seen up to 6 feet of snow in recent weeks and a rare cold snap that pushed temperatures below zero.

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

Changing weather with a lot of snow, rain and strong frost with icing, has made it difficult for the reindeer to reach lichen and moss on the ground in Nordland.