The record was driven in part by a heavy rainstorm that set Kotzebue's single-day precipitation record.
On Tuesday night, the state of Alaska saw thousands of lightning strikes. “Most of the 3,800 lightning strikes were concentrated in the Northwest Arctic,” said BLM Alaska Fire Service spokeswoman Beth Ipsen. There are several communities in close proximity to new fires.
An ice jam caused by warming spring temperatures near the village of Buckland has left most of the town underwater and cut off access to the airport road. Residents of the village of about 400 people are preparing to evacuate by boat if water levels continue to rise.
October began with "an explosion" of COVID-19 positive cases despite efforts to tighten and extend restrictions. In the first five days 14 residents on the North Slope and 23 in the Northwest Arctic, upping active caseloads in each borough to 40 and 45, respectively.
The rate of coastal erosion seems to be speeding up near Cape Blossom.
It’s a dramatic drop from this winter’s balmy start, but this is a normal weather pattern for this time of year.
The flooding was caused by a weather system that moved up to the Bering Sea from the tropics, and raised water levels and dumped rain across much of western Alaska.
Warm water temperatures may be causing stress and increase the risk of infections and other illness in fish.
"Our temperatures reached 83 degrees, and seem to be getting hotter! We think that maybe the warm water has something to do with the humpy die-off?"
This comes just days after other reports of about 60 dead ice seals found from Kotlik to Kotzebue and Kivalina to Point Hope.
First mosquito sighting in Kotzebue.
Willows budding about a month early 30 miles above the Arctic Circle.
The Arctic Sounder - Serving the Northwest Arctic and the North Slope
"Yesterday we came over to do an assessment of the high-water flood storm," said Northwest Arctic Borough Deputy Director of Public Services Dickie Moto, who grew up in Deering. "They lost a lot of ground on the front and on the back side of town because of the high water and rough seas.
A strong storm impacting NW Alaska with high winds and sea level rise (over 6 ft) caused localized flooding in Kotzebue.
Coastal erosion occurring near Cape Blossom, outside of Kotzebue, Alaska.
Technology has changed, communities have moved, people have grown older, and the beluga whales the Kanigmiut have relied on for generations have all but disappeared.
The size of a large caribou herd in Alaska's Arctic region has dropped by more 50 percent over the last three years, and researchers who have tentatively ruled out hunting and predation as significant factors for the decline are trying to determine why.
For one day last week, the village of Deering needed to use a boat to get to the airport.
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