Sorted by date Results 76 - 100 of 110
Wrangell High School’s cross-country team finished another lap for the season, competing in Juneau over the weekend. “It went really, really, really well,” said the team’s coach, Jenn Davies. Reyn Hutten continued setting the pace, once again finishing first for the 1-3A division and placing fourth overall from among 107 girls. Among 151 boys, Riley Blatchley and Jacob Hammer came in 17th and 20th for their division, respectively, on what Davies explained was a challenging course. “There’s some strategy involved,” she said, with the course spor...
FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) – The city of Fairbanks set new record high temperatures over the weekend, including one set more than 100 years ago. The high recorded Saturday at Fairbanks International Airport was 82 degrees, or 2 degrees warmer than the previous record set on that date in 1915. Fairbanks also set a new record on Friday of 79 degrees, well above the normal high of 60 for this time of year, according to The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. “(Saturday) was the first time we hit 80 degrees this season,” National Weather Service meteo...
A preliminary report for the investigation into the April 8 plane crash which killed three and injured another was released late last week. The National Transportation Safety Board found that weather conditions may have contributed to the accident, which involved a Cessna 206 airplane registered to Sunrise Aviation. The flight had departed from Wrangell airport at 8:10 that morning, heading for Angoon. It crashed en route on the southeastern end of Admiralty Island, near Pybus Bay. The plane was flown by airline co-owner Dave Galla, who the rep...
In an article put out January 7, the Sentinel reported on some of the more notable facets of weather-related trivia for 2015. But according to one resident’s rain gauges, some of the numbers used didn’t quite add up. Bill Messmer has been tracking local rainfall for some years, maintaining monthly and annual records since 1984. He currently uses two types of rain gauge, an electronic one and a tube which needs to be manually emptied. “I collect it at my house every morning,” he said. When off-island, he has someone check the readings for him...
Wrangell residents were rocked late Monday and early Tuesday morning as a storm system worked its way northward along the Southeast panhandle. Homes, businesses and facilities along Zimovia Highway were hit hardest as sustained gusts of up to 55 miles per hour or more buffeted the coastline. Work crews scrambled throughout the morning trying to remove debris and fallen trees from yards, streets – even homes. Power was down for parts of the island in the early morning hours, with an outage to t...
The region experienced some weather oddities in 2015, with the tail end of Hurricane Ignacio arriving in September. Across the state, communities logged record warmth on Dec. 30 and 31, capping off what has on average been the warmest year in a decade. In addition to being the driest on record for Wrangell, last May had also been the warmest with an average temperature of 53.8 degrees. Overall, temperatures remained warmer than usual throughout the year. The highest temperature was 80 degrees on July 6, with a low of 14 recorded on Feb. 7. On...
PETERSBURG – Petersburg Harbor video surveillance footage may confirm a meteor did pass over Petersburg in the early morning hours of Sat., Nov. 21. Eyewitness reports placed the fireball at times ranging between 2:22 a.m. to 2:33 a.m. Petersburg Harbor video surveillance footage shows a bright flash of light lasting for two seconds on nearly all its camera feeds at 2:25 a.m. The Petersburg Public Library video camera also captured images of a bright flash of light at exactly the same time. Johnson Space Center NASA scientist Marc Fries poi...
(Updated November 28, 2015 @ 2:35 p.m.) PETERSBURG – Amongst the rumors and speculation pulsing through Petersburg’s streets and social media news feeds last weekend, a Johnson Space Center NASA scientist points to data that suggests a falling meteor shook Mitkof Island last Saturday morning, which could mean many Petersburg residents woke up to the flash of a fireball and the blast of a sonic boom. John Havrilek witnessed what he described as a blinding streak of light and the sound of an explosion. “It was amazing,” Havrilek said. “I was...
Wrangell was whipped by high winds last Friday during a storm which kept most of Southeast Alaska indoors. Especially at this time of year, the region is no stranger to severe weather brought on by low-pressure systems, but what made last week’s storm rare was a contribution of Pacific Hurricane Oho. The tropical storm system was sustained by warmer than usual waters off the Canadian coast as it moved northward, joining with a pre-existing system. A high wind warning by the National Weather Service remained in effect throughout the a...
KETCHIKAN – As the Fourth of July holiday approaches, residents, visitors and campers are reminded that all fireworks, including sparklers, are prohibited in the Tongass National Forest. “People assume the restrictions apply just to developed recreations areas managed by the Forest Service, including campgrounds, picnic areas and day use areas,” said Forest Fire Management Officer Tristan Fluharty, “but no fireworks or pyrotechnic device of any kind may be discharged anywhere within the National Forests, regardless of weather conditi...
The weekend's 18th annual Stikine River Birding Festival had plenty of sunshine, baseball and a Tax Free Day to compete with but nevertheless drew good crowds for a variety of activities. The festival highlights birding opportunities that the region affords. Southeast Alaska is a major destination for long-distance migrations, as its diverse landscape is a hot spot for species declining elsewhere. The Stikine River area sees over 120 species of birds during migratory periods, and shorebirds...
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADFG) announced Tuesday that retention of lingcod bycatch in commercial longline fisheries closed in the entire Southern Southeast Internal Waters (SSEIW) Sector at 11:59 p.m. yesterday evening. The 2015 lingcod guideline harvest level for SSEIW longline fisheries is 2,080 round pounds. By Tuesday, 2,076 round pounds had been landed from this area. The lingcod bycatch season remains open for longline fisheries (excluding sablefish) of the Eastern Gulf of Alaska Area in the Icy Bay Subdistrict, East...
February 18, 1915: The biggest event in the upcoming week will be the Washington’s Birthday Ball given by the firemen at the Rink on the evening of Thursday, February 22. A committee of young men – all live wires – have the affair in hand and are arranging to make it a huge success. A splendid supper will be served and nothing will be left undone to make everyone have an enjoyable time. Ladies who have red shirtwaists and red skirts are requested to wear them. Firemen are requested to make an effort to obtain red shirts. Gentlemen who are n...
FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) – The National Weather Service is confirming what a lot of Alaskans concluded about temperatures last year 2014 was warm. The agency says 2014 surpassed 1926 as Alaska’s warmest year on record. The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reports the United States National Weather Service Alaska made the announcement on its Facebook page based on information from the National Climatic Data Center. Weather data for Alaska goes back to 1918. To determine the warmest year, the climatic data center pulls temperature data from rep...
Autumn came to a sudden end as a low pressure system swept Southeast over the weekend, bringing a heaping helping of snow to Wrangell. Forecasters with the National Weather Service issued a weekend winter storm warning Saturday for Juneau, Petersburg, Wrangell and Hyder. A low pressure system pushed across the Gulf of Alaska, bringing warm, moist air into the area and creating the potential for blizzard conditions. In Juneau and Petersburg, about ten inches of snowfall was recorded over the...
Winter in Wrangell is likely to be a bit warmer than the nights of yesteryear, though whether there will be a white or just slushy entrance to the spring season is still up in the air. “They are going with a greater than 40 percent chance that we'll have above-normal temperatures all this winter, and as far as precipitation, there's no real indicator on which way it's going to go,” said Tim Steffen, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Juneau. “These winters are driven by bigger atmospheric circulations, those global scale patte...
In the Sentinel 100, 75, 50 and 25 years ago. September 3, 1914: Forest Supervisor Weigle was in town for a few days last week, and while here he went over and inspected the new Stikine trail. He reports the work as about finished, all that is left is a little rock and bridge work. This new trail is one of the greatest conveniences the government could give to the miners in the interior, and the Forest Service and Mr. Weigle in particular deserve great credit for the way they have overcome the many obstacles and built the trail. Signs will be p...
PETERSBURG – Even to those well adjusted to Petersburg weather, the downpour of rain in the past weeks hasn't gone without notice. So far two days this month have set new precipitation records. National Weather Service data showed some 1.97 inches of rain fell on Petersburg last Saturday and 3.25 inches fell on Sunday, breaking previous precipitation records for those respective days in August. The normal average rainfall for each day is 0.20 inches, according to the National Weather Service. Th...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – Water crept up on homes and closed roads and popular hiking trails Friday, as residents braced for possible record flooding after the release of water from a glacially dammed lake. The old record of 11.18 feet on Mendenhall Lake, set in 1995, was broken by Friday afternoon, as the lake water level reached 11.8 feet, then began to drop slightly, the National Weather Service said. Authorities have been monitoring the lake and Mendenhall River to see when they would crest following the water release. The Weather Service s...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – Here’s some good news for the residents of Kake who have for years feared the demise of the historic Keku Cannery: funding to stabilize the crumbling landmark has been approved Gary Williams, executive director for the Organized Village of Kake, said the tribe has been authorized to use its Bureau of Indian Affairs transportation funding to stabilize the building, which is located on BIA trust land. Once it’s stabilized, the tribe intends to move its transportation office into the cannery. “The stabilization that we’re t...
A vessel sunk near Wrangell Tuesday afternoon, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. The 60-foot Silver Bay 2 went down at anchor tied to another tug, according to Coast Guard Petty Officer First Class Jeremy Dawkins. No one was aboard when the Silver Bay 2 went down off shore from the former mill property. Coast Guard officials were notified because of potential environmental impacts from the ship’s sinking, and conducted no search and rescue operations associated with the sinking, Dawkins said. Company officials will likely wait until the w...
In the Sentinel 100, 75, 50 and 25 years ago. January 8, 1914: Today at two o'clock the case of the United States vs. Chief Shakes in a complaint being made by A. Lemieux against Chief Shakes for criminal trespass on property supposed to be owned by Lemieux but claimed by Shakes was up for trial in the Commissioner's Court. Chas Ingersoll represented Chief Shakes and Richard Bushell the prosecution, upon motion from the attorney for the defendant the case was dismissed. According to the ruling made, no person can hold the title to Indian land...
While officials at the National Weather Service say they can’t predict with certainty how much snow will fall this winter, they’re pretty sure temperatures will be colder than normal. How much colder? It’s hard to say, really. “We can say with 40 percent confidence that temperatures will be lower than usual,” said Rick Fritsch, a forecaster with the Service’s Juneau office. “In climate terms, that’s pretty confident. What I haven’t said is how much colder it will be.” The average temperature for Wrangell, based only on data from between 1991 a...
The first snowfall of the year struck last week, blanketing Wrangell in white stuff. While the poor man’s answer to the eternal question of how much snow could be as simple as looking out the window, authorities in Wrangell have been without specific snowfall data for months. Contracted observers for the National Weather Service collect rain totals at the airport. However, the service relies on a network of volunteer observers to collect snow totals, according to Kimberley Vaughan, an observation program leader and forecaster with the S...
