An “atmospheric river" is what it sounds like - a channel of very moist air coursing across the globe, up in the air. And it’s what’s been drenching parts of Alaska, including the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta.
Winds gusted up to 46 mph and about 2.4 inches of rain fell from Friday to Sunday.
The warm winter has made traveling on the river ice more hazardous than Bethel Search and Rescue ever remembers.
For the first time, the race will run two laps to its halfway point and back. Mushers agree it’s the safest way to run the race, but it could present challenges.
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.
Biologists do not expect either to reach their goals for fish reaching their spawning grounds.
Three foxes from three Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta communities have tested positive for rabies in recent weeks.
Heavy snowfall has made maintaining the lower Kuskokwim Ice Road a challenge this year. The road is shorter than usual, even as its crew is working harder.
“The ice was so thick flowing down the river. It was forming so fast. It was freezing so fast. Just amazing. I’d never seen anything like that," one of the hunters, Rex Nick, said.
Winds of up to 85 mph ripped up the Southwest Alaska coast on Friday, upending smokehouses, tearing electric lines and flinging a house across the road.
The ice highway that residents are used to driving this time of year has yet to fully freeze. Bethel Search and Rescue calls the number of open holes on
Sled dog racing season officially began on the Kuskokwim this weekend. Listen now
Starting Thursday, the Department of Transportation will begin repairing Chief Eddie Hoffman Highway. The warm winter has wreaked similar havoc on highways across Alaska.
Climate change may be responsible for pushing Alaska’s Gray Whales up into estuaries and rivers like the Kuskokwim.
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