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Sailing To North Pole, Explorers Find More Ice Than Expected

Two men pose aboard a small boat, filled with gear, with a blue sky behind them.

A team of explorers and scientists returned to Nome last week after attempting to be the first to sail to the North Pole. The three-week expedition, called Arctic Mission, gathered scientific data about Arctic marine ecosystems, and went farther north by water than almost anyone had before.

On Thin Ice

Ice Camp Sargo

As springtime arrives in the sub-Arctic, the melting of our region’s ice cover is one of the clearest signs of the new season. It’s no surprise that ice — especially the lack of it — been a frequent subject of KNOM News’ recent stories.

Wintertime News

The Yukon River

From a stranded seal to a dangerous hole in Yukon River ice, recent stories from KNOM’s news department offer a special glimpse into what makes Western Alaska so unique — and, at times, so challenging.

Ice In, Ice Out

Nome, Alaska, from the frozen Bering Sea

The freezing of the Bering Sea drastically changes the landscape of rural Alaska’s coastal communities. It also opens up new possibilities for transportation and subsistence.

In the News: From Fire to Ice

Onlookers and the East 3rd Avenue fire in Nome

Thanks to you, our listeners — and readers of KNOM’s online news — have received a wide slate of fascinating (and, at times, very urgent) news stories this autumn, the work of our intrepid news team (Matthew, Francesca, and Jenn). Here are just a few examples (all available online): One of the worst residential fires […]

Three years ago, ten years ago

Ric shoveling

While Nome has experienced a relatively warm winter this year – with widespread melting and relatively little snow to speak of – winter in our region is, as you might expect, often the opposite. Here are two examples. In 2011, only three years ago, our snow cover – and our exposure to heavy winter storms […]

Preparing for winter

Tara throws the switch

We’re at the start of our long, sub-Arctic winter. As rain and mud turn to snow and ice underfoot, we, like our listeners, are taking all the steps you’d expect to prepare for the colder months to come.

Breakup, mail delays, and Communicator Awards

All across Western Alaska, it’s the season known as “breakup”: the slow, on-again/off-again period of melting that signals the gradual approach of summer. Some days are bright and sunny, and others are cloudy and snowy. The sun melts ice on rooftops as the tundra gives up its blanket of white snow, little by little. Spring […]

Transitions

Although our daylight hours are increasing, the final throes of winter are long in Western Alaska. With temperatures just below freezing, small pellets of ice and snow still fall from the sky. Cooler-than-normal temperatures are slowing the retreat of the ice and snow, the air is brisk, and you can hear the occasional crackling of sea […]