A powerful, ongoing storm in Western Alaska has flooded communities, destroyed homes and left some residents injured by flying debris. Officials say rescue efforts are underway after floodwaters in multiple communities swept homes off their foundations. The remnants of Typhoon Halong tracked farther east than expected, slamming into the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta coast early on Sunday morning. Officials said Sunday afternoon that the hardest hit communities appeared to be Kipnuk, Kwigillingok and Napakiak.

The Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta is experiencing unusually low snowpack and heavy rainfall, with temperatures significantly above normal for January, raising concerns about potential impacts such as increased wildfire risk and infrastructure challenges.

The 2025 Kuskokwim 300 sled dog race has been delayed by two weeks due to unusually low snowfall and warm temperatures, making it difficult to ensure safe trail conditions. This extended delay is rare in the race's 46-year history, typically only postponed for a day or two.

The Holiday Classic sled dog race in Bethel, Alaska, has been postponed due to hazardous trail conditions caused by recent storms and warm temperatures.

On January 10, 2025, Kwigillingok experienced significant flooding due to strong tidal action and fierce winds, leading to a flood advisory and a federal disaster declaration for past damages.

During the Christmas bird count in Bethel, despite high winds, volunteers spotted two bald eagles and a red-breasted nuthatch, marking the first sighting of the nuthatch in 21 years of the event.

Bethel, Alaska, experienced historically low July temperatures with highs in the 40s, a rare event not seen since 1971, due to an unusual cold air outbreak from the Arctic.

A stonefly nymph, common in Alaska but unfamiliar to local residents, was observed along the Kuskokwim River.

The Kuskokwim River breakup has led to widespread flooding, affecting roads and drinking water in several communities, with Kwethluk experiencing significant impacts.

Bethel Search and Rescue advises against travel on the Kuskokwim River due to dangerous conditions of open water and thin ice identified in their annual aerial survey.

Amid severely restricted fishing on the Kuskokwim River, one bright spot has been abundant sockeye salmon runs at 30,000 fish daily near Bethel.

Biologists do not expect either to reach their goals for fish reaching their spawning grounds.

The booming Bristol Bay salmon run has broken the record set just last year, while on the Yukon River, Chinook are too scarce to harvest.

In an unusual event, a pair of beluga whales swam about 60 miles up the Kuskokwim River to Bethel. After word got out, boaters pursued the belugas and took at least one of them. Now, an official is working to collect samples of the animal to better understand where it came from.

This small owl was sighted perching under a building. LEO Network looking for some help on an identification.

The tomcod harvests in the Kongiganak, Cavuuneq and Ilkivik Rivers have been a failure. Also in other areas, based on observations from Chevak and Chefornak. Both the surface and bottom trawl results show a clear decline in tomcod biomass in the North Bering Sea.

“It got very cold the day we got there, it got down to like single digits and ice came out of the mountains and rivers and sloughs everywhere,” said Allyn Long, general manager of Alaska Logistics.

A decades-long decline in salmon in the Yukon River has reached a crisis this year, forcing harvest closures and prompting emergency shipments of salmon from other regions of Alaska to river residents who are otherwise facing food shortages.

The village is losing ground three times faster than it was 10 years ago, according to studies of Napakiak’s erosion. During high tide, the river is only 64 feet from the high-schoolers’ original classroom and gets closer by the day. On windy days, waves crash against the shore where students used to play, battering it until the land relents and crumbles.

Chum returns are the lowest on record, leaving communities with empty freezers and uncertainty about getting through the winter.