A pair of nesting Arctic Snowy Owls on the tundra near Barrow, AK have become web celebrities here in Fairbanks. The pair have six newborn chicks in the nest.
The Tundra Cam can be seen at the website http://www.explore.org
Also on explore.org are webcams viewing Brooks Falls, where one can watch brown bears as they fish for salmon.
Photos courtesy of explore.org
1.92″ of rain fell at the airport on Tuesday, followed by 1.39″ on Wednesday for an official total of 3.31″ over a period of 36 hours. The 6.57″ of rain we have seen in the past 15 days is the wettest 15-day period on record for Fairbanks. It surpasses the 6.17″ of rain that fell between August 1-15, 1967 that caused the worst flooding in the city’s history.
The flood gates at the Moose Creek Damn were lowered for the second time in two weeks to restrict flow into the lower Chena River. It was only the 22nd time that the gates have been lowered since they were built in 1979.
The amount of rain in the gauge over the past 24 hours was 3.5 inches! That is a lot of rain for Fairbanks, Alaska. The average rainfall for the entire month of July is only 2.52″.
I had to drive the Steese Hwy today and the runoff along both sides of the road looked like rivers, complete with white water. I didn’t even go near the actual rivers today. There has to be some serious water in the Chena, Salcha and Tanana.
June 2014 was the wettest June on record in Fairbanks. Judging by the water flowing down the Chena River, I believe it.
Sadly, the month of July seems to be continuing the trend.
