Rick Thoman
@alaskawx.bsky.social
Climate specialist with ACCAP/IARC at UAF, highlighting Alaska and Arctic climate, environment & Indigenous cultures. Opinions are my own. Alaska and Arctic Climate Newsletter: https://alaska-arctic-climate.beehiiv.com
Best way to use purpleair.com map: click on the gear icon at upper left and choose "US EPA" in the "Apply Conversion" setting, or else readings will be too high. Also uncheck the box "show inside" to avoid seeing monitors located indoors, which have a black circle around the colored dot on the map.
High temperatures (ºF) in and around Alaska on Tuesday. Warm on the North Slope with 65F (18.3C) at Utqiaġvik the highest temperature so far this year. Chilly and rainy across the YK delta. Very warm central and eastern Interior into the Yukon Territory. #akwx #weather @climatologist49.bsky.social
After announcing in December 2025 the Arctic Winter Games would temporarily be held every three years, Fairbanks, Alaska is set to host the games in 2028....
Alaska to host 2028 Arctic Winter Games, returning event to two-year cycle
After announcing in December 2025 the Arctic Winter Games would temporarily be held every three years, Fairbanks, Alaska is set to host the games in 2028.
cabinradio.ca
July climate summary for Alaska in the latest post from the Alaska and Arctic Climate newsletter. A cool month statewide, but rainfall was all over the place. On Beehiiv and Substack. #akwx #Climate alaska-arctic-climate.beehiiv.com/p/alaska-cli... alaskaclimate.substack.com/p/alaska-cli...
For the 0-2 followers here who have ever wondered what the ridge traverse segment between The Ramp and Mt. Williwaw is like, here is my trip report from Sat. It is 2.5 km of Class 3/4 gendarmes on top of the ridge for 2 hours, or a 3-hour, side-hilling suffer-fest below the ridge. 0 out of 5 stars.
we have numerous communities in alaska that lack clean running water and even more communities with sinks that look like this elect someone who will fight for our communities more than they fight for oil & gas companies
Rick Thoman@alaskawx.bsky.social · 17h agoOngoing crisis in Northwest Arctic Borough. Outstanding reporting from Desiree Hagen at KOTZ, Kotzebue: "Ambler, a Northwest Arctic community of about 270 people, has been without water or sewer for more than five months." #Alaska #AlaskaSky @napaaqtuk.bsky.social www.kotz.org/kotz-local-n...
July climate summary for Alaska in the latest post from the Alaska and Arctic Climate newsletter. A cool month statewide, but rainfall was all over the place. On Beehiiv and Substack. #akwx #Climate alaska-arctic-climate.beehiiv.com/p/alaska-cli... alaskaclimate.substack.com/p/alaska-cli...
Ongoing crisis in Northwest Arctic Borough. Outstanding reporting from Desiree Hagen at KOTZ, Kotzebue: "Ambler, a Northwest Arctic community of about 270 people, has been without water or sewer for more than five months." #Alaska #AlaskaSky @napaaqtuk.bsky.social www.kotz.org/kotz-local-n...
Ambler has gone 5 months without water and sewer. Fixes could take months.
According to the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, about 85 percent of Ambler's main water lines are cracked, unable to hold pressure, and require replacement.
kotz.org
If you’ve got kids thinking about college, or if you’re thinking about college, UAF is — no lie — an incredible value. Small class sizes, taught by world-class researchers (even at the undergraduate level), in a beautiful part of the world. ~$24K/year w/housing www.uaf.edu/finaid/costs...
Tuition & Fees | Financial Aid
uaf.edu
Anchorage Daily News@adn.com · 21h agoIn a bid to attract more students from outside of Alaska, the UA Board of Regents voted to eliminate higher tuition rates for students with out-of-state residency. www.adn.com/alaska-news/...
1954, cars driving along a flooded Old Glenn Highway. Before 1967, Lake George annually flooded the road and cut the connection between Palmer and Anchorage. The Knik Glacier no longer advances to block the Lake George outlet. Via Anchorage Museum #alaskahistory #alaska
Summer day on the Black Rapids Glacier in the Alaska Range, McGinnis Peak on the right. This is known as the "Galloping Glacier," a surge-type glacier that last surged in 1936-1937, advancing 4 miles in just 4 months. www.lwpetersen.com/alaska-infor...
Year-to-date temperature departure from normal for Alaska based on station data. Close to 1999 and 2012 as the coolest first 7 months of the year over the last half century. @alaskawx.bsky.social 🥳
High temperatures (ºF) in and around Alaska on Monday. Still quite warm Southeast Interior Alaska eastward into Canada. Cooler in Southcentral and Kodiak Island area. #akwx #weather @climatologist49.bsky.social
Monday ice update - #Arctic sea ice extent is currently the 12th lowest on record (JAXA data)... • about 10,000 km² below the 2010s mean • about 840,000 km² below the 2000s mean • about 1,680,000 km² below the 1990s mean • about 2,440,000 km² below the 1980s mean More: zacklabe.com/arctic-sea-i...
After Halong: Return and recovery —Bethel-based photojournalist Katie Baldwin Basile that looks at the Western Alaskans whose lives were changed by the disaster. Via Anchorage Press @alaskabeacon.com alaskabeacon.com/2026/08/03/a...
After Halong: Return and recovery | Alaska Beacon
This story was originally published in the Anchorage Press. Subscribe here. From Bethel-based freelance photojournalist Katie Baldwin Basile: While on a recent assignment in the Western Alaska villag...
alaskabeacon.com
Looking at the Geographic Names Information Database (GNIS), the top 5 types of "Stream" feature suffixes in Alaska are: Creek (7570), River (1293), Slough (238), Fork (58), and Pup (38). Apparently, "Pup" was a suffix assigned to some "baby" stream segments by placer miners. @alaskawx.bsky.social
Hydaburg, on Prince of Wales Island, has been without running water since last week, according to the Alaska state Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.
Impressive Bering Sea storm for early August. Strong winds in the YK delta region Sunday night and soaking rain over the northern Bering Sea coast Sunday into Monday. GOES-W loop courtesy NWS. #akwx #weather #Summer2026 @hanners64n.bsky.social @markspringer.bsky.social
High temperatures (ºF) in and around Alaska on Sunday. Cooler in Southcentral. Very warm upper Tanana valley eastward into the Yukon Territory. Also in the Aleutains. Stormy Bering coast from Bristol Bay northward. #akwx #weather @climatologist49.bsky.social
Nearly everywhere in Alaska was cooler than normal in July. Some place by little, other places by quite a bit. McGrath had the coolest July since 1981, Fairbanks coolest since 2001, Anchorage coolest since 2008. #akwx #Climate #Summer2026 @climatologist49.bsky.social
A bit of smoke into Fairbanks from the 2500 acre Tatlanika fire on the flats east of Anderson. Worse air quality in the North Pole area with AQIs in the unhealthy category. Low level southwest winds mean pretty much a straight shot from the fire to North Pole. #akwx #Wildfire #Smoke #Summer2026
July 2026 #Arctic sea ice extent was the 6th lowest on record for the month... This was 1,760,000 km² below the 1981-2010 average. July ice extent is decreasing at about 6.80% per decade. Data: @nsidc.bsky.social at nsidc.org/data/seaice_...
July 2026 rainfall around Alaska was (as usual) highly variable. Exceptionally wet in the Cook Inlet area with near record high totals in many locations. Also way above normal totals across southwest Alaska. Northern Southeast quite dry. Mixed bag in the Interior and northwest Alaska. #akwx #Climate
A bright spot in these dark times is that Maroon 5 hasn't dropped any new music for a long time
Update on the 2026 wildfire season around the Arctic in the latest post from the Alaska and Arctic Climate Newsletter. On Substack and Beehiiv. H/T @mparrington.bsky.social #akwx #Arctic #Canada #Wildfire alaskaclimate.substack.com/p/july-2026-... alaska-arctic-climate.beehiiv.com/p/july-2026-...
