Weather & Climate
RSSAlaska News tracks weather and climate events affecting Alaska communities, including volcanic activity, wildfires, and smoke impacts.
Juneau to Mendenhall Valley: the next glacial flood is coming, plan now
Juneau says the next Suicide Basin glacial flood is on its way, expected Aug. 1-9, with about 1,900 valley homes in the advisory area. Make a plan before the river rises.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
The Gulf of Alaska's ocean station was saved. The funding still isn't.
The Gulf of Alaska's deep-sea monitoring station was saved from removal — but the money to keep the network Alaska's fisheries rely on is still unsettled.
by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago2 min read
Alaska's senators move to shore up the NSF office that funds most UA research
Alaska's senators want to make permanent the NSF office that funds most UA research — even as the Trump budget would cut NSF by more than half.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
AVCP chief executive presents on Arctic typhoons as Inuit assembly closes in Iqaluit
AVCP's CEO presented on Arctic typhoons at an Inuit assembly in Iqaluit, highlighting how Typhoon Halong destroyed homes and displaced hundreds in Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta villages in October 2025.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago2 min read
A magnitude 3.0 leads a weekend quake cluster in the Susitna Valley
A magnitude 3.0 led a weekend of small quakes in the Susitna Valley, felt as far as Anchorage — routine for ground sitting on three seismic sources.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
A rare stretch of 75-degree heat is coming to Bristol Bay this week, could disrupt berry picking and fishing
Bristol Bay is due for 70 to 75 degrees Wednesday and Thursday — heat this region sees about once a year, and enough to interrupt summer subsistence.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
It's July, and it's snowing on the road to the Arctic
It's late July and it's snowing on Atigun Pass — the 4,739-foot Brooks Range crossing that's the only road to Alaska's North Slope.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
The water keeps coming back to Kotzebue Sound
Kotzebue Sound is getting its second high-water warning in two days — small rises on a coast where the flooding keeps getting worse.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Minor Chukchi surge hits Kivalina and Red Dog Dock
A minor Chukchi surge Sunday is small by 2022 standards, but it hits Kivalina and Red Dog Dock, where erosion and flooding are already permanent problems.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Small craft advisories hit Kodiak, Barren Islands waters through Sunday
Strong winds, caution to boats
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Talkeetna's erosion fight reaches a new stage: buying people off the riverbank
Talkeetna's erosion fight has reached buyout territory: the borough wants federal money to pay people off the riverbank, if the state covers the match.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Juneau's flood barriers are finished before Suicide Basin lets go
Juneau's Mendenhall River flood barriers are done ahead of Suicide Basin's expected release. Officials still urge residents to heed evacuation advisories.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago1 min read
Delta Junction hit by 58 mph gusts, near-zero visibility from blowing dust
Delta Junction got hit with 58 mph gusts and blinding dust Tuesday night, the fourth wind advisory there this month.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Wind hammered Skagway into early Friday
Skagway got pounded by 45 mph gusts Thursday, with forecasters extending the wind advisory three times before it finally let up at 1 a.m.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
NWS warns of snow, ice risk at Atigun Pass and along Dalton Highway tonight
Surprise Surprise, snow in Atigun Pass
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Wind Advisory keeps Isabel Pass dangerous through Thursday evening
Big wins through Isabel Pass, careful on the roads
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Four wind advisories cover Alaska through Thursday with gusts to 60 mph
Four wind advisories are up across Alaska — and in Anchorage, weeks of rain have left the ground soft enough that 50 mph gusts could bring trees down.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
High surf and minor flooding for Alaska's west coast through Thursday
A Bering Sea low is pushing high surf and minor flooding into Alaska's west coast through Thursday night, with water 1 to 3 feet above the normal high tide line.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Water is over roads in the Lower Matanuska Valley
Heavy rain has the Little Susitna up and water over roads near North Sushana Drive, with a flood advisory for the Lower Matanuska Valley until Friday morning.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
High water has Southcentral anglers waiting it out
Flooding has Southcentral anglers mostly sidelined — weirs underwater, creeks blown out, and 12-foot waves hitting the Kenai dipnet beaches.
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Wind advisory: 50 mph gusts and 12-foot Cook Inlet waves threaten Kenai dipnetters Thursday
Yeah, maybe think about your choices before you just haphazardly go out - I don't know. I guess that's on you. Best of luck.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Gale winds, 8-foot seas off Utqiagvik through Thursday
Gale winds and 8-foot seas off Utqiagvik make Chukchi waters dangerous for small boats through Thursday evening, with rough water returning Sunday.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
The Yentna is a foot over flood stage, and cabins are taking water
The Yentna is running a foot over flood stage, with water already in cabins at two Susitna Valley lodges and more rain coming through Thursday.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Chukchi and Beaufort Seas carry most ice in decades, even as Arctic shrinks
Chukchi and Beaufort seas north of Alaska hold the most summer ice in decades, bucking the Arctic's overall decline as Atlantic-side ice hits record lows.
by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago1 min read
A storm hits Norton Sound just before Friday's gillnet opening
A Bering Sea storm hits Norton Sound Thursday with 45 mph gusts and 9-foot seas, a day before a 24-hour commercial gillnet opening.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Bering Sea low to push 13-foot seas into Bristol Bay, Kuskokwim Delta Wednesday
Big seas, big problems
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Heat advisory in effect for Ketchikan, Hyder, and Annette Island until 7 PM
Heat advisory in effect for Ketchikan, Hyder, and Annette Island until 7 PM tonight as temperatures approach 80 degrees, unusual for Southeast Alaska.
by Alaska News2mo ago1 min read
Rockfall risk added to Anchorage flood watch as second rain round targets Monday commute
Heavy rain expected Monday morning in Anchorage may trigger rockfalls on the Seward Highway and flood Chester and Campbell creeks through Tuesday.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Flood Watch expands to Anchorage and Kenai Peninsula as atmospheric river intensifies
Flood watch expanded Sunday to Anchorage and Kenai Peninsula as atmospheric river brings 2 to 4 inches of rain and 55 mph winds through Monday. • Yentna River in Susitna Valley forecast to crest above flood stage by Tuesday, threatening cabins at two lodges. • River users warned to expect higher water levels and monitor forecasts closely through midweek.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Seven straight months below normal: what drove Alaska's chilly first half of 2026
Alaska's seven-month cold streak through June 2026 was its longest since the mid-1970s, but climate analysis shows it reflects short-term weather variability, not a reversal of long-term warming.
by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago2 min read
Kennicott River rising after Hidden Creek Lake drains; crest expected Monday
Hidden Creek Lake is draining into the Kennicott River near McCarthy, expected to crest Monday with fast-moving water and debris. • Dangerous conditions extend downstream to the Chitina and Copper Rivers, putting boaters and subsistence fishermen at risk. • This annual glacial flood is called a jökulhlaup; NWS warns against parking, camping, or crossing near riverbanks.
by Alaska News2mo ago2 min read
Flood Watch issued for Seward as atmospheric river targets Kenai Peninsula through Tuesday
National Weather Service issued a Flood Watch for Seward from early Sunday through Tuesday morning as an atmospheric river brings 3 to 5 inches of rain to the Kenai Peninsula.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Rain forecast for Yentna and Skwentna gravel bars through Monday night
Rain forecast for the Yentna and Skwentna River basins Saturday night through Monday night may push rivers to bankfull, threatening gravel bars and low-lying camping areas.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Wind advisories warn of 65 mph gusts across Interior Alaska this weekend
Wind advisories for Interior Alaska through noon Monday warn of gusts up to 65 mph, downed trees, power outages, and hazardous driving conditions for high-profile vehicles.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Salmon River near Hyder still rising; road to Canada at risk
A glacial outburst flood is pushing the Salmon River higher near Hyder, threatening the community's only overland road out. Crest timing remains uncertain.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Anchorage trades summer warmth for a cool, wet stretch
Anchorage is trading peak-summer warmth for a cool, wet stretch — near-60 highs, repeated rain into next week, and jacket weather at the low end of July's normal range.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Yentna River forecast to crest above flood stage tonight
The Yentna River near Lake Creek is set to crest above flood stage Wednesday night, sending water into several cabins — in a roadless area reachable only by bush plane and boat.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Freezing rain possible at Kaktovik and Point Thomson through Wednesday night
Freezing rain and lower-30s temperatures threaten Kaktovik and Point Thomson through Wednesday night, a mid-July hazard the National Weather Service warned Tuesday.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Juneau braces for another Suicide Basin glacial flood
Another glacial flood from Suicide Basin is headed for Juneau — nearly 1,900 homes are in the advisory area, and officials say the barriers holding it back are "essentially sandbags."
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Yentna and Skwentna rivers headed for high water
Rain's about to shove the Yentna and Skwentna to bankfull — so if your camp is on a gravel bar this week, it's about to become a sandbar with a view of the bottom.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
