Whittier

Chugach forecasters issue warnings of high avalanche danger following a fatal incident and two non-fatal close calls in the mountains.

Chugach Electric acknowledges the high frequency of winter power outages in Cooper Landing and Moose Pass, attributing them to heavy snowfall and considering solutions like local maintenance crews.

Stand up paddle boarder near miss with humpback whale in Prince William Sound.

The slide occurred at a time when forecasters in the region are cautioning backcountry skiers and snowboarders about the potential for warming weather to increase avalanche risk.

The slides come near the end of an avalanche season experts say is notable both for its heightened danger and lack of deaths.

The reason for the uptick in human-triggered avalanches this winter: persistent weak layers in the snowpack.

Alaska Railroad freight train derailed early Tuesday after plowing into avalanche debris south of Girdwood. The debris spread roughly 300 feet across the tracks.

Volunteers at the Whittier Slug-Out learned about Alaska’s invasive species and helped mitigate European black slugs near a popular cove on Prince William Sound.

A storm that hit Southcentral Alaska on Saturday night led to flooding in Girdwood, a landslide on the Sterling Highway and left thousands of homes without power throughout the region on Sunday morning. More than a foot of rain fell in Girdwood by Sunday.

The beluga had a ruptured intestine probably related to parasites, which were found in the whale’s abdomen, lungs and kidneys, Burek said. The parasites likely led to an entanglement within a section of the intestines, leading it to rupture. “Very unusual,” Burek said. “I’ve never seen anything like that before.”

Thousands of euphausiid shrimp, the species identified here in Resurrection Bay as Thysanoessa spinifera. were washed into the intertidal zone and on the beach near Whittier

The rapid retreat of Barry Glacier, 28 miles northeast of Whittier, could release millions of tons of rock into Harriman Ford and generate a large tsunami in Prince William Sound, according to Alaska's top geologist.

“It was a beautiful event that we were lucky to have survived,” Andrew Hooper said.

“When I first started six years ago, icebergs like this were more common,” says a tour boat captain on the lake near Anchorage.

A squat lobster (Munida quadrispina) was pulled up in a shrimp pot placed in Prince William Sound, which is not a common event. Squat lobsters are commonly found in Southeast Alaska during ADF&G shrimp survey pots and in scallop dredge surveys near Yakutat, Kayak Island, Kachemak Bay, and Kodiak.

Grey whale (Eschrichtius robustus) found beached near the Placer River along Turnagain Arm is one of five grey whales reported dead along the Alaska coast during 2019.

About 70 gray whales have been spotted dead so far this year along the West Coast from California to Alaska, the most in almost 20 years. Many of them appeared malnourished, according to NOAA officials.

A pilot first spotted the whale last week. What caused the whale’s death isn’t yet known.

It’s rare to see humpbacks in Turnagain Arm, known for its swift tides and shallow waters.

Avalanche monitors say danger remains high in Turnagain Pass, Girdwood and Portage.