sea ice

U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis says the U.S. military increasingly relies on Alaska, both to provide a base of operations to maintaining dominance of the Indian and Pacific oceans to the south and to enable the Coast Guard and Navy to maintain control of U.S. Arctic waters, to the north. Mattis spoke at a news conference this morning at Eielson Air Force Base.

National Weather Service climate expert Rick Thoman says there’s a good chance that all of Alaska will be warmer than normal in August and the next couple of months. But he says there’s near-certainty that coastal areas along the Gulf of Alaska and the Bering and Beaufort seas will be warm through October.

A big broadband leap forward in northern Alaska …

It’s been a chilly winter here in the Interior and elsewhere around the state. But for the Arctic Ocean, it’s been one long warm spell. That’s led to another record-low year for formation of Arctic winter sea-ice cover.

It’s been a relatively cool and snowy winter here in the Interior, compared with the past couple of winters. But climate experts say the Arctic has been warmer than average. They say that’s why it appears this year’s maximum Arctic sea-ice cover, measured near the end of winter, is likely to set another record for the smallest maximum on record.

Scientists who study Arctic climate say their research will suffer if the Trump administration goes ahead with big budget cuts reportedly under consideration for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. And they say the proposed cuts also would hinder meteorologists’ ability to forecast weather in Alaska and worldwide.

The ebb and flow of Arctic sea ice …

An ever-shrinking Arctic polar ice cap …

Arctic sea-ice cover sets another record low …

The National Weather Service says the cold that’s gripped the Interior for the past few weeks will finally give way this week to milder temperatures. The weather service’s long-term forecast calls for normal temperatures and precipitation through the rest of the winter – except, possibly, in western Alaska.