An ice jam right at the mouth of the Nowitna River; Photo credit: The NWS and the River Watch Team
It’s the time of year where we all watch the rivers up here. Break-up in Fairbanks has lost the drama it had in the early days, before the flood control tamed the Chena River. There was a time when the Cushman Street bridge was rebuilt every year after the ice took it out.
Elsewhere across Alaska, the shifting ice still packs a punch. The ice jam in the above photo has caused flooding 90 miles upstream. Tanana, Alaska has experienced minor flooding from this. Communities all along the Yukon, from Eagle to Buckland have experienced severe flooding.
The Kobuk River has been added to the flood stage list. An ice jam could bring flooding from Kobuk to Ambler if the ice doesn’t break up soon.
Graphic credit: NWS and NOAA
In Fairbanks, we saw our first 80F degree day this season on Friday. It broke a record for not just the high temp of the day, but also broke a record for the highest low temperature for the day. It was the earliest 60F degree low on record for Fairbanks. It was certainly noticeable when I went out in the morning.
Appeared in: Scientific American – 22 January 1922
Designed in Ruby, Alaska by Frank Horner, the motorized “dog sled” was powered by rear wheels that drove a cleated belt. The sled was tested in the Lower 48, but never traveled through Alaska powder.
Emmitt Peters crosses the Iditarod finish line in Nome in 1982. He came in 4th place that year.
Emmitt Peters, the Athabascan sled dog musher from Ruby, Alaska, passed away this past week.
Peters, known on the trail as “The Yukon Fox”, won the 1975 Iditarod as a rookie. Not only did he win, but he shaved off six days from the previous record time. To this day, The Yukon Fox remains the only musher to win the Iditarod as a rookie.
