From Unalakleet to Nome, enchanting, pint-sized boreal owls have been popping up in unexpected places.

An observer reports unusual sightings of Sabine's gulls, including juveniles, outside their typical migration period, suggesting a potential new breeding colony near Nome.

A moose that was killed in Teller last week had been infected with rabies, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game confirmed.

The weekend was marked by cold sunny days and stunning aurora displays at night, but then the weather took another turn. By Tuesday morning, an east wind was howling and blowing snow sideways. The week started looking like a repeat of the last.

Looking seaward over the last week from almost all points along the coasts of Norton Sound, folks have been dazzled by bright blue horizons colored by open water.

Health and wildlife officials confirmed a dramatic rise in rabid foxes in Nome and the region, after a winter of increased fox attacks on dogs and people. According to an ADF&G press release, of 61 foxes that were dispatched in Nome and the area, 23 percent (or 14 foxes) tested positive for rabies. Of the 11 foxes that were found dead, or were killed by dogs or people because they behaved ‘rabid’, all tested positive.

A research vessel, Norseman II, was trapped in unusually dense sea ice for 14 days off the Seward Peninsula coast during a Pacific walrus study, but is now en route to Nome for repairs.

The Bering Sea’s cold pool, a critical part of the seafloor ecosystem, had shrunk to a worrying degree in recent years, but it is continuing to slowly return, according to the latest results of NOAA’s bottom trawl survey. Saffron cod, also called tomcod, seems to be bouncing back after a few bad years, and Arctic cod and blue king crab numbers were also better.

After alerting the region to very high levels of harmful algal blooms west of Kotzebue and Gambell two weeks ago, scientist onboard the research vessel Norseman II have found even higher numbers of Alexandrium catenella algae cells near Wales, Diomede and Shishmaref.

Nome experienced an unprecedented weather event with record-breaking high temperatures in December, reaching 44°F, disrupting daily life as rain turned snow into ice, and causing school closures and transportation challenges. This is only the second time in Nome’s 119 year climate history that the temperature has stayed continuously above freezing on back-to-back days in December.

A city building in Little Diomede, Alaska, slid off its foundation, threatening the structural integrity of adjacent buildings and critical services, with the community seeking immediate assistance.

Last week a musk ox gored a 10-year-old Malamute outside of his family’s man camp near the Old Glacier Creek Road. A visiting veterinarian cared for the injured dog commenting on more frequent conflict between musk ox and dogs and an increase in musk ox population.

Puddles on ice, slippery sidewalks and heavy wet snow berms are remnants of a three-day weather event that pummeled Nome and the region. According to UAF Climate Specialist Rick Thoman, “that’s the highest three day total on record for Nome in March in the past 116 years.

Nome and the surrounding area, including St. Lawrence Island, is fighting rabies almost as hard as it is fighting COVID-19. Because of the high level of rabies infection Fish and Game requested assistance from the National Rabies Management Response Program. Their job is to manage a wildlife disease outbreak. Several technicians and a rabies biologist are in Nome reducing the number of foxes.

In February 2025, unexpectedly weak sea ice broke off near Nome, Alaska, marking the first recorded early detachment of shorefast ice. Local subsistence hunters and climate specialists warn the event could disrupt the regional ecosystem and traditional hunting practices.

Nome experienced an unusual snowless Christmas despite not having a dry December, with rain replacing snow and creating icy conditions that hinder traditional winter activities and local events.

Nome Public Schools were closed on Monday. Bering Air did not fly on Monday and canceled or delayed flights on Tuesday morning. Alaska Airlines canceled its evening flights for Sunday and Monday but flew as scheduled the morning flights.

High concentrations of harmful algae called Alexandrium catenella have been detected in the Bering Strait waters near St. Lawrence Island, Wales, and Little Diomede, posing a potential danger to human health and urging caution when consuming certain seafood.

A storm system with high winds and significant flooding impacted western Alaska, causing damage and disruptions in several communities.

Three weeks in a row, residents of Nome and the Southern Seward Peninsula Coast received winter storm warnings from the National Weather Service. Seven out of the last eight springs have been unusually stormy. This spring alone, since March, there have been eight significant storm days.