Washington state Gov. Jay Inslee proclaimed a state of emergency Saturday for counties in the eastern part of the state

Everyone seems to be wondering, "What happened to spring?" Last month, a persistent flow of Arctic air blanketed the eastern two-thirds of the nation. Record cold, and even snow in some areas, delayed the onset of warm spring-like conditions.

Spiders possibly wolf spiders of family (Lycosidae) numbering some 75 to 100 were seen on top of snow along Boulder Creek road and lagoon.

As the ice breaks up on waterways across the North, the spring river breakup has come to a close in Hay River but not before it created a feast of fish for local birds.

Ross's Gulls are normally seen in the high Arctic, this is the first reported sighting in Togiak. A similar sighting was reported to LEO Network from Hooper Bay.

It is unusual for skates to wash up on the beach.

Research finds farmed salmon virus may cause jaundice/anemia.

An unusual gull species (possibly Ross's gull) sighted within days of a confirmed Ross's gull sighting in Togiak.

We have over two weeks of cold windy weather. It started in mid April around the time of the big wind storm. And in relation of the wind storm on April 24th, Rick Thoman wrote: "Winds this strong in the Anchorage are rare at this time of year. An unusually strong storm for the season in the southeastern Bering Sea produced southeast strong winds blowing across the Chugach Mountains. However, being April, the temperature profile of the atmosphere close to the ground was more conducive than in winter for allowing the very strong winds aloft to reach down to the ground.

Many cows might need to be slaughtered early due to a shortage grass for them to eat.

A dry winter exacerbated by a drier spring has left a wide swath of southern Manitoba in a state of moderate to severe drought, with much of the rest of the province classified as "abnormally dry."

The ice conditions are similar to last year (with) lots of young ice and close leads," said Captain Frederick Brower. "We all went out and broke trail to the edge, but a high west wind came along and added about three-quarters to 1 mile of ice and (we) had to break trail through that and began whaling from the new edge ... . The conditions were not favorable but we made due with what we had and continued on with our whaling season."

Lyndon Haskey said the water came alive with jackfish when he was checking a flooded pasture.

Passenger experiences usually turbulent conditions on winter flights.

Located on the Alaska Peninsula, 424 miles southwest of Anchorage, Port Heiden is a cluster of homes at the mouth of the Meshik River on the shores of Bristol Bay. It's a community on the frontline of climate change in Alaska, where temperatures are rising twice as fast as the global average.

Ross's gull (Rhodostetia rosea) spotted in Hooper Bay, south of normal species range.

Residents saw a few hundred walrus hauled out at the beginning of April. By the end of April, they reported seeing about a thousand. On a recent flight over the shoreline, an ADF&G biologist saw only 100.

Sargassum is free-floating brown macro-algae that lives in the temperate and tropical oceans of the world. In the open ocean, the floating seaweed provides important ecosystem services by acting as habitats for a diverse group of marine animals. It provides food, shade, and shelter to many types of specialized fish, crustaceans, and turtles.