Scattered power outages were reported this morning, and as the wind began picking up early this afternoon, more are expected. As of 9 a.m., unofficial measurements showed more than 19 inches of snow on Old Murphy Dome Road, 14 inches in Goldstream and almost a foot in Two Rivers. The official measurement on the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus was 12.4 inches.
In the earliest breakup since the contest began in 1917, the Nenana Ice Classic Tripod fell early this morning.
A total of 14.7 inches of snow fell between 8 p.m. Thursday and 8 p.m. Friday, barely eclipsing the previous record for the date of 14.6 inches, set in 1970.
A borough employee who went to measure ice at Chena Lake got first-hand evidence that the lake ice ready for vehicles. “Lo and behold, there was a truck upside down on the bottom in about 25 feet of water,” Haas said. “No one was in it.”
NENANA — Early warm spring weather is adding a lot of excitement to the Nenana Ice Classic this year, resulting in a surge of last-minute ticket sales.
The Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Policy calculated that, as of Wednesday, a total of 0.7 inches of snow had fallen at Fairbanks International Airport, making this the least snowy year here since 1926.
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.
A power line fell on a car in Portland, killing three people and injuring a baby during an ice storm that turned roads and mountain highways treacherous in the Pacific Northwest.
The Western Arctic Caribou Herd has been declining for years, and the migration patterns of the animals have been changing. In several locations in Northwest Alaska, caribou have been arriving later and later in the season. Friday last week, people in Kotzebue finally started seeing caribou — hundreds of them ― crossing the Kotzebue Sound north of town, coming from the Noatak riverside. Ice conditions are one of the reasons for the caribou’s late migration, said Thomas Baker, chair of the Northwest Arctic Subsistence Regional Advisory Council.
Alaskans are taking advantage of rare ice skating conditions on alpine lakes in Chugach State Park, with hundreds of people hiking into the backcountry to skate on smooth ice in the shadow of iconic peaks.
The Hatcher Pass Road in Alaska has opened for the summer season, but deep snow remains at higher elevations, with crews spending the last week digging out the road over the pass before opening it.
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.
Muldrow Glacier on the north side of Denali is surging for the first time since the 1950s — moving 50 to 100 times faster than its usual pace. The surge was first glimpsed by K2 Aviation pilot Chris Palm last month. “I was thinking it looks really difficult to get onto the glacier right now,” Palm said. “It’s all shattered and torn up and jagged ice and deep crevasses everywhere.” The event could impact mountaineers scheduled to use the north approach to the mountain .
Fairbanks resident Erin Lee, 40, was transported to Mat-Su Regional Hospital via helicopter where she was pronounced dead, according to the statement.
Juneau’s urban avalanche forecast describes “extreme” danger Saturday evening. Centennial Hall will open as an emergency shelter at 8 p.m. Saturday.
The second-worst flood on record in the Interior Alaska community of Manley Hot Springs began to recede on Sunday, but dozens of residents were displaced and cut off from power. Flooding is also reported in Sleetmute, Red Devil and Georgetown on the Kuskokwim River and Circle on the Yukon River.
No one was hurt when a slab avalanche buried one child and partially buried two others.
Five people stayed overnight Friday on Ruth Glacier. On Saturday, guides led them to a shelter about 3.5 miles away, A historic storm dropped record amounts of snow throughout Interior Alaska during the last few days..
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.
The cold and wet hunters built a fire to keep warm until Alaska Army National Guard rescuers arrived hours later.
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