Bethel, Alaska, experienced historically low July temperatures with highs in the 40s, a rare event not seen since 1971, due to an unusual cold air outbreak from the Arctic.
The Kuskokwim River breakup has led to widespread flooding, affecting roads and drinking water in several communities, with Kwethluk experiencing significant impacts.
Bethel Search and Rescue advises against travel on the Kuskokwim River due to dangerous conditions of open water and thin ice identified in their annual aerial survey.
Amid severely restricted fishing on the Kuskokwim River, one bright spot has been abundant sockeye salmon runs at 30,000 fish daily near Bethel.
The spiders are usually in multiple form in most areas, but it has not been witnessed in this form. This is described as a spider "ballooning" event, the term used when spiders launch themselves in to the air. These events might be happening more frequently as warming Arctic temperatures has been associated with increases in the population of some spider species such as the wolf spider (see Spider Baby Boom in Warming Arctic), and spiders moving further north and also having more then one hatch per season.
Biologists do not expect either to reach their goals for fish reaching their spawning grounds.
The booming Bristol Bay salmon run has broken the record set just last year, while on the Yukon River, Chinook are too scarce to harvest.
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.
Air tankers and smokejumpers responded to the fire, which the division said Thursday is no longer a threat.The tanker dumped retardant to help contain the fire, which had spread south, scorching about five acres of tundra. Much of Southwest and Southcentral Alaska is under a red flag warning because of hot, dry and windy conditions.
Less snow than usual fell in the area this winter. It melted early, exposing the tundra. A steady wind has dried the vegetation, and hardly any precipitation has fallen since early March. Thoman said that with no rain and abundant sunshine, the tundra has remained brown and dry. The fire still is not threatening the community of Kwethluk or any Native allotments.
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