JUNEAU – As climate change rapidly alters conditions in southeast Alaska, lower snowpack levels have caused a massive decline of yellow-cedar trees. Without an insulating blanket of snow, the shallow roots of yellow-cedar trees freeze during late spring cold snaps. Left behind is a growing expanse of “ghost forests” of dead yellow-cedars, affecting roughly […]
An avalanche of natural origins occurred on Hatcher Pass Road came across the roadway at mile 15.5 near Archangel at 8:30 am and the road was closed at approximately 9 am and will remain closed for the next 24 hours as avalanche specialists assess the area. Through last night, approximately 11 inches of snow has […]
Snow falling silently on Alaska’s mountains will in a few months transform into a medium for migrating salmon, and so much more. “That snowflake that falls on the mountain now is water that flows in streams and rivers late in summer,” said Gabe Wolken, a glaciologist who works both for the state and the University […]
The monetary impact of changes in snowfall due to climate change is likely in the trillions of dollars. Professor Matthew Sturm, with the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute, reported in a recent paper for the American Geophysical Union that the costs of snowfall changes are “measured in trillions, not billions, of dollars.” Sturm collaborated […]