Frigid north winds blow down from the Arctic Ocean, freeze saltwater and push sea ice south. The ice normally prevents waves from forming and locks onto beaches, walling off villages. But not this year.
The closures of the campgrounds, facing the threat of falling trees, likely will last through summer, the state parks division said.
Flooding that halted Alaska Railroad trains north of Talkeetna Saturday, has receded, but train traffic remains shut down. Listen now
A wildfire north of Delta Junction has reignited. The more than 8,000-acre South Fork Salcha Fire was started by lightning earlier this month in a remote area about 70 miles southeast of Fairbanks.
Walruses over the last decade have come to shore on the Alaska and Russia sides of the Chukchi Sea as sea ice diminishes because of global warming.
Moose and other species have advanced north with warming temperatures. University of Alaska Fairbanks assistant professor of water and environmental research Ken Tape said movement of boreal species into far northern Alaska has corresponded over the last century with earlier snow-melt and river ice out.
Some temperatures in the eastern Interior hit 90 degrees Sunday, as ex-Typhoon Ampil moves toward Western Alaska this week.
The country's 3,300 miles of ice roads are a lifeline for marooned communities during frigid winters, but climate change is making the roads unsafe much earlier.
"It is unusual for bears with youngsters to wake up so early and it is difficult to say why these have come out. The bears may have been disturbed by humans or other animals."
Sea ice in the Chukchi Sea disappeared far earlier than normal this spring as a result of exceptionally warm ocean temperatures.
Rain caused mudslides are affecting roads in the southeastern Interior. The Alaska Department of Transportation reports that the McCarthy Road was shut down by a slide last night. Listen now
A sinkhole has opened up on Ft. Wainwright in Fairbanks. The 3-foot diameter void discovered Monday near a housing unit, is suspected to be the result of thawing permafrost.
"For our grandchildren and their children, now the devastation has left them nothing": Shackan First Nation Chief Arnold Lampreau.
Officials say the floodwaters are swamping Alaska towns, tearing buildings from foundations, seeping into homes and covering roads. In Glennallen, the local utility is setting up Porta-Potties around the community, and area residents are asked to limit water usage. The state transportation department said there was water over a portion of the Glenn Highway on Monday, but the road remained open.
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