Anchorage-based photographer saw something wild — a sudden, bright light on the northern horizon that quickly started to take on a spiral shape as it drew nearer. The spiral “appears to be rocket engine exhaust from a SpaceX Transporter-7 mission that launched on the Falcon 9 about three hours earlier in California.”
The magnitude 7.2 earthquake initially triggered sirens and evacuations in communities including Sand Point and Kodiak.
Current sea ice extent in Northern Alaska waters is the highest it’s been since November 2001.
Mushers shrugged off jackets and dogs sunbathed in the snow as temperatures hovered around 40 degrees — hot by Alaska winter standards.
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.
The slides come near the end of an avalanche season experts say is notable both for its heightened danger and lack of deaths.
Locals in Kotzebue showed a mix of excitement and concern over the weekend in response to reports that a rare polar bear was spotted in the area.
Alaska wildlife officials collaborated with whale experts to successfully rescue a humpback whale that was entangled in crabbing gear off the coast of Gustavus, Alaska, preventing it from dying.
Scientists from the University of Alaska Fairbanks have observed an increase in chum salmon spawning in North Slope rivers, potentially indicating a shift in their population and a signal of climate change. Elizabeth Lindley, a Ph.D. student working on the project, says that while evidence of spawning in a new region may be a positive for salmon, the impact on important subsistence resources including Arctic char and Dolly Varden is uncertain.
Object shot down by US Air Force, ordered by Biden, over North slope of Alaska.
ABL Space Systems is still investigating the crash, but says the rocket rose more than 700 feet before its engines shut down 11 seconds after launch.
Light rain is expected to fall across much of the region Tuesday, with a storm possibly bringing more rain to Anchorage on Wednesday.
A landslide in Ketchikan resulted in one fatality, multiple destroyed homes, and ongoing emergency responses, following heavy rainfall.
A rare phenomenon of gnat larvae forming snake-like processions has been observed again in Interior Alaska, raising questions about their behavior and species classification.
The Coast Guard reported the dead 47-foot female humpback to NOAA on Sunday evening. It had washed ashore on the south end of Kruzof Island. The whale looked healthy and its belly was full of fish — most likely herring. But they did find some evidence of blunt trauma.
Last summer’s unusually warm weather fueled an explosion in the western blackheaded budworm, leaving masses of browning trees in many areas of Southeast. The worm, which is the larval stage of the budworm moth, is known to feed on the new growth of trees, leaving them with a brownish-red appearance.
There were 4,500 lightning strikes in Alaska Tuesday — the latest in a run of days with thousands of ground strikes. There were also another 13 new, primarily lightning sparked wildfires in the state Tuesday, mostly in the Interior. The lightning storms have coincided with very dry conditions.
During a community meeting, Chevak residents said better emergency planning should be a long-term priority. For now, though, assessing damage is the focus.
Heavy rains and melting glaciers are making landslides in the area more common, says a geologist.
Some temperatures in the eastern Interior hit 90 degrees Sunday, as ex-Typhoon Ampil moves toward Western Alaska this week.
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