Climate change, permafrost thaw, sea-ice loss, long-term trends
An ongoing glacial lake outburst flood on the Taku River is affecting the City and Borough of Juneau, with an alert in effect until 11 p.m. AKDT Tuesday. Mariners and anyone near the river corridor should expect rapid water rises and debris in the channel.

Chukchi Sea ice extent stood well above the 1991-2020 median as of Saturday, the third consecutive late June with that pattern, per ACCAP data — with high-concentration ice still hugging the Alaska coast north of Wainwright and the Beaufort Sea nearly ice-locked.

A Gulf of Alaska storm will bring sustained winds of 35-45 mph and gusts to 60 mph in Portage and the Anchorage Hillside from late Sunday morning through evening, with lighter winds in the Anchorage Bowl and blowing dust expected along the Glenn Highway near Palmer.

Alaska plans to earn over $3 billion by replanting 600,000 burned acres as carbon offsets over 20 years. • Work requires 5,000 tree planters yearly plus nurseries and equipment, creating seasonal jobs. • Carbon market collapsed in 2024 but is recovering, with oversupply ending in 18 to 24 months.
Utqiaġvik recorded its second-coldest May high in 105 years at 29°F while most of the Arctic ran warm, triggering river ice jams that flooded Holy Cross and its airstrip in late May.
El Niño is likely to emerge soon, but that does not guarantee stronger impacts in Alaska.

UAF scientist gets $300K to study which microbes activate when permafrost thaws and release carbon, a key step to understanding how much greenhouse gas could escape from Alaska's frozen soils.

Alyeska wants more North Slope land to wall the pipeline off from flooding — the same week the rivers are rising, and a year after the Sag took out the Dalton Highway for real.

UAF sea ice scientist Andrew Mahoney will lead a year-long study of Antarctic Ross Sea ice decline funded by the National Science Foundation with $36,000, running through March 2027.

Alyeschem broke ground May 15 on Alaska's first Arctic petrochemical plant at Prudhoe Bay, converting natural gas into methanol with AIDEA's $70 million financing and operations expected by late 2027.
Alaska's power planners design 50-to-100-year systems using 2008 weather data that no longer matches current storm patterns, leaving utilities like AVEC to absorb emergency costs like the $100,000 helicopter rental after Typhoon Halong hit in 2025.

Fairbanks spruce pollen hit a season record of 346 grains per cubic meter on June 5, according to University of Alaska Fairbanks counts that track allergy triggers and climate patterns.

Research shows Alaska's thawing permafrost is releasing unexpected amounts of methane while coastal erosion threatens Native villages across the state.


