Rick Thoman
AlaskaWx@alaskan.social
<p>Climate specialist with ACCAP/IARC at UAF, highlighting Alaska climate, environment & Indigenous cultures. Opinions are my own. I've been fascinated by <a href="https://alaskan.social/tags/Arctic" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Arctic</span></a> & <a href="https://alaskan.social/tags/boreal" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>boreal</span></a> <a href="https://alaskan.social/tags/weather" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>weather</span></a>, <a href="https://alaskan.social/tags/climate" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>climate</span></a> and <a href="https://alaskan.social/tags/cultures" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>cultures</span></a> for more than 50 years. I've worked as a weather & climate professional in private, public
Posts
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Post #4405889
Very warm July (relative to normal) in western Siberia and much of central and eastern Canadian Arctic. Cooler than normal for most of Alaska, northwest Canada, the Russian far northeast and the Nordic Arctic. For the Arctic overall (land and seas north of 60ºN), third warmest July since 1950 in ERA5 reanalysis. @Climatologist49@fediscience.org #Arctic #Climate #Summer2026
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Post #4170597
Early look at July average temperature departures around the Arctic. Very warm across western into central Siberia and in much of the eastern Canadian Arctic. Cooler than average over most of Alaska and the northern Canadian Arctic Islands. Graphic courtesy K. Haustein. #Arctic #Climate Summer2026 @Climatologist49@fediscience.org
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Post #4019615
Arctic Today with a sea ice story. Always a plus to be in the same story as @ZLabe@fediscience.org 🙂 https://www.arctictoday.com/arctic-ice-hits-record-lows-on-the-atlantic-side-as-the-us-cuts-back-on-tracking-it/ #Arctic #SeaIce
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Post #3943713
#Tanacross #Dene #Alaska #language ts'éninṯẖiit! "wake up!" ts'enihthet "I woke up" nátaat̲h̲et "s/he will stand" nén’ tidaxdint̲h̲et "the world is messed up" naa tidaxdint̲h̲et "that place is bad" n’éɬ s̲h̲iikanítáat̲h̲eɬ "good luck in the future (for good deeds)" @ScoterD@alaskan.social @transitionalaspect@fnordon.de
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Post #3835964
For the fourth consecutive year, the Northwest Territories, Canada has the vast majority of the wildfire in the northern North America. Season isn't over, but the proportions are not likely to change much in next eight weeks. @Climatologist49@fediscience.org @BakerRL75@m.ai6yr.org #Summer2026 #Wildfire
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Post #3795871
For a nerd-level dive into the current state of El Niño outlooks, this post from @hausfath@fediscience.org is quite informative. #weather #Climate https://www.theclimatebrink.com/p/the-strongest-el-nino-ever
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Post #3363631
The complete loss of cold years in the Arctic since the 1980s is astounding. The last "blue" stripe was 1992, following the Pinatubo Volcano eruption in the summer of 1991. #ShowYourStripes #Climate #Arctic
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Post #3032132
Sea ice is on the way out for the season in the Bering Sea. Increasing areas of moderate concentration ice in the southern Chukchi and large area open water persisting west of the North Slope coast: overall sea ice extent in the Chukchi Sea the lowest for May 30 since 2022. @Climatologist49 @ZLabe #akwx #Arctic #SeaIce
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Post #3032131
Downtown Fairbanks Sunday 430pm AKDT: rain and thunder. #MyAlaskaWx
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Post #3032130
Downtown Fairbanks Monday 600am: Cloudy, bit of a breeze, a little rain overnight but not currently, 47F (8.3C). #MyAlaskaWx
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Post #3032129
As May ends the transition to summer in the Arctic is right on track. Update on snow and ice melt in the latest from the Alaska Arctic Climate Newsletter. @Climatologist49 https://alaska-arctic-climate.beehiiv.com/p/may-2026-sea-ice-and-snow-update https://alaskaclimate.substack.com/p/may-2026-sea-ice-and-snow-update #Arctic #Climate #Spring2026
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Post #3032128
High temperatures (ºF) in and around Alaska on Sunday. Mildest day of the month in parts of southwest Alaska and upper Bristol Bay. A bit milder in Southeast and Gulf of Alaska coast. Slightly cooler in the northern Interior. #akwx #weather
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Post #3032127
High temperature in May at Utqiaġvik, Alaska was only 29F (-1.7C). This is the second lowest May high temperature in the past 105 years. Only lower was May 1952, when the high was 28F (-2.2C). #akwx #Climate #Spring2026 @Climatologist49 @cinderbdt
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Post #3032126
Cordova, Alaska (Eyak country) was cool and soggy in May: coolest May (3.2F below normal) since 1985 and most May rain (12.96 inches) since 1989. No wonder it’s been a backwards spring. #akwx #Climate
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Post #3032125
From KYUK in Bethel, Alaska: &quot;I&#39;m worrying about their being able to heat their homes, fuel their cars, all my village agents in 73 villages fueling up their four-wheeler to meet the plane. This is, it&#39;s gonna affect every aspect of life in Western Alaska…” https://www.kyuk.org/economy/2026-05-20/western-alaska-prepares-to-lock-in-what-may-be-unaffordably-high-fuel-prices-for-the-year
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Post #2854944
Part 2 of the Arctic Summers and El Niño climate analysis is now posted in the Alaska and Arctic Climate newsletter. This is the first AAC newsletter that is cross-posted on Beehiiv and Substack. We'll see how this goes. @Climatologist49@fediscience.org https://alaska-arctic-climate.beehiiv.com/p/arctic-summer-and-el-ni-o-part-2 https://alaskaclimate.substack.com/p/arctic-summer-and-el-nino-part-2 #Arctic #Climate #ElNino
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Post #2736360
High temperatures (ºF) in and around Alaska on Sunday. Continued very mild northwest Arctic with a new record high temperature for the date at Kotzebue (59F, 15.0C). Warmest day of the year so far in the northeast Interior. However, quite cool on the Gulf of Alaska and the southeast Bering Sea coasts. #akwx #weather
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Post #2736359
Downtown Fairbanks Tuesday 600am: bright and sunny, calm, 37F (2.8C). #MyAlaskaWx
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Post #2736358
High temperatures (ºF) in and around Alaska on Monday. Cooler in northwest Alaska and still chilly on the Gulf of Alaska coast. Mildest in the upper Yukon valley. #akwx #weather
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Post #2736357
Downtown Fairbanks Wednesday 600am: Partly sunny, slight breeze, 44F (6.7C). #MyAlaskaWx
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Post #2736356
Birch Hill, Fairbanks, Alaska in spring-green finery. Photo from Creamers Field. #akwx #Alaska #Spring2026
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Post #2736355
High temperatures (ºF) in and around Alaska on Tuesday. Continued rainy and chilly on the northern Gulf of Alaska coast. Mild in the Upper Yukon valley. Still staying below freezing on the northern North Slop coast. #akwx #weather
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Post #2736354
In case you’re wondering about the status of the start of melt season on the Greenland Ice Sheet, keep on wondering… #Arctic #Climate
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Post #2736353
Alaska spinny thing Wednesday afternoon. About a 978 hPa low centered near Adak in the central Aleutians with a well developed occlusion over the southeast Bering Sea. #akwx #weather
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Post #2569628
If you’re in Fairbanks today (Thursday), come on out to the 2026 edition of the Arctic Research Open House at UAF this afternoon 4-7pm. I’ll be there: stop by the ACCAP table in Akasofu Building and let&#39;s chat about anything Alaska weather and climate related. It’s always a good time. #akwx @anisian @mivox https://www.uaf.edu/news/uaf-to-host-free-arctic-research-open-house-may-14.php
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Post #2560043
#SilentSunday #Alaska #Spring
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Post #2554373
No, the upper air observation situation in Alaska is not getting better. Alaska Wednesday afternoon 50 percent of possible upper air observations were missing. But thanks for asking. #weather
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Post #2473158
Satellite-derived sea ice thickness around Alaska for the week ending March 26 courtesy AWI. Ice is thicker than the 2011-25 median along the Alaska Chukchi coast and of course in the southeast Bering, where the 15-year median ice extent is zero. Mostly thinner than average ice in the northern Bering Sea St. Lawrence Island westward. @Climatologist49 @ZLabe #akwx #Arctic #SeaIce
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Post #2473155
Early look at April 2026 temperature departures around the Arctic. Much warmer than normal across nearly the entire Arctic Ocean as well as on land from Greenland eastward across European Arctic. Much colder than average across most of the Canadian Arctic. Mixed in Alaska and far northeast Russia. Graphic courtesy K. Haustein. #Arctic #Climate
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Post #2365766
Alaska and Yukon Territory upper air observation availability so far in 2026. Continued lots of missing data in western Alaska. This is not just an Alaska problem: lack of data impacts weather and climate reanalysis models world-wide. @Climatologist49 @ingalls #akwx #weather