Alaska
After a dry June sparked wildfire concerns, Alaska has had a very rainy July
It’s been rainy in Alaska for much of July so far, with Southcentral set to see cloudy skies through the week.
That comes on the heels of a drier than usual June, which sparked concerns as wildfires burned across the Interior.
As part of our Ask a Climatologist segment, National Weather Service climate researcher Brian Brettschneider says the rain is lessening those wildfire concerns, and though temperatures may seem comparably cooler, it’s still a warmer-than-average summer.
Listen:
This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Brian Brettschneider: Obviously, rain is a great antidote for wildfire concerns. And it’s been, at least in Southcentral, it was fairly dry for the month of June, and actually most of the state it was dry for the month of June. And we were getting more concerned about the conditions that might be susceptible to starting fires. But this rain has certainly, quite literally put a damper on that.
Wesley Early: And speaking of wildfires, there were a bunch that were burning in the Interior. You mentioned that a big chunk of the state has seen rain. Is the Interior part of that big chunk?
BB: Yes. So if you look statewide, the first half of July, we basically had an entire July’s worth of rainfall, so far, on average statewide. You know, places like Nome, it’s five times as much rain so far that they should have had for the first half of July. And pretty much every single station is well above normal, with just a couple of exceptions. And so the fires that were burning, I don’t think there’s any fire that was burning that hasn’t gotten significant rain. I’m not sure if they’re all out or not, but the rain has definitely been a blessing for fire. And also, you know, July is basically the month of the year where we get the most lightning strikes by a wide margin. It’s July, and then it’s kind of June to a lesser degree, August to an even lesser degree. And with all this, these wetting rains, and they’ve been a kind of steady rains, not convective, not thunderstorms, not nearly as much. And that’s also good for fires. And now we’re really only a few weeks away from the end of the busy time of the lightning season. So there’s not going to be too many more opportunities for new fires to start, hopefully.
WE: We’re coming to the end of what’s considered, sort of, the peak of wildfire season, peak of lightning season. What is the rest of the summer looking like?
BB: Well, the Climate Prediction Center, they do monthly outlooks, and the next outlook, which is going to be released on Thursday, will show that the southwest part of the state is most likely to be a little bit below normal temperatures. And then the north and northeastern part of the state may be a little bit warmer than normal and about half the state in the near-normal category. A very familiar climate outlook pattern that we’ve seen a number of times over the last few months, and the August one looks to continue that trend also with above normal chances of being wetter than normal. And keep in mind, July and August are the two wettest months of the year in the mainland, so not Southeast, but in the mainland, those are the two wettest months of the year. And so even near-normal rainfall during those months is a good thing. It’s a good amount of rain and we potentially could be on the high end of that.
WE: And this seems to be the second year in a row where the Lower 48 has had baking temperatures. I’ve seen so many places that don’t normally have above 100 degrees having above 100 degrees. Alaska is having a… I don’t want to say lackluster, but a less severe summer. It seems like an odd trend that as the Lower 48 bakes, Alaska has a comparatively cooler summer. Is that normal?
BB: Not really. There’s a little bit more correlation in the winter where there can often be kind of a flip between what Alaska experiences and what the Lower 48 does. It doesn’t really work out so much in the summer. So June statewide it was a top 10 warmest June. It was also a top 10 driest June. And so we need to be careful now that we’re in a kind of a cool wet pattern to think, “Oh, this has been a cool, wet summer.” It really hasn’t been. In fact, for the first half of the summer, statewide, we’re kind of exactly normal. The southwest part of the state is cooler than normal, the eastern part of the state is warmer than normal. But on balance, we’re right at the 1991 to 2020 normal, which is warmer than previous decades. So historically, this is still probably a warmest third of all summers. And, you know, as far as rainfall again, it was a very dry June. We’re definitely making up for that so far in July and the forecast looks for that to continue.
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – A musician with Alaska Native roots recorded an hour-long live set in Interior Alaska beneath the aurora.
Chastity Ashley, a drummer, vocalist and DJ who performs under the name Neon Pony, celebrated a year since she traveled to Nenana to record a live music set beneath the northern lights for her series Beats and Hidden Retreats.
Ashley, who has Indigenous roots in New Mexico, said she was drawn to Alaska in part because of the role drums play in Alaska Native culture. A handmade Alaskan hand drum, brought to her by a man from just outside Anchorage, was incorporated into the performance in February 2025.
Recording in the cold
The team spent eight days in Nenana waiting for the aurora to appear. Ashley said the lights did not come out until around 4 a.m., and she performed a continuous, uninterrupted hour-long set in 17-degree weather without gloves.
“It was freezing. I couldn’t wear gloves because I’m actually playing, yeah, hand drums and holding drumsticks. And there was ice underneath my feet,” Ashley said.
“So, I had to really utilize my balance and my willpower and my ability to just really immerse in the music and let go and make it about the celebration of what I was doing as opposed to worrying about all the other elements or what could go wrong.”
She said she performed in a leotard to allow full range of motion while drumming, DJing and singing.
Filming on Nenana tribal land
Ashley said she did not initially know the filming location was on indigenous land. After local authorities told her the decision was not theirs to make, she contacted the Nenana tribe directly for permission.
“I went into it kind of starting to tell them who I was and that I too was a part of a native background,” Ashley said. “And they just did not even care. They’re like, listen, we’re about to have a party for one of our friends here. Go and do what you like.”
Ashley said the tribe gave her full permission to film on the reservation, and that the aurora footage seen in the episode was captured there.
Seeing the aurora for the first time
Ashley said the Nenana performance marked her first time seeing the northern lights in person.
“It felt as if I were awake in a dream,” she said. “It really doesn’t seem real.”
She said she felt humbled and blessed to perform beneath the aurora and to celebrate its beauty and grandeur through her music.
“I feel incredibly humbled and blessed that not only did I get to take part in seeing something like that, but to play underneath it and celebrate its beauty and its grandeur.”
The Alaska episode is the second installment of Beats and Hidden Retreats, which is available on YouTube at @NeonPony. Ashley said two additional episodes are in production and she hopes to make it back up to Alaska in the future.
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Copyright 2026 KTUU. All rights reserved.
JUNEAU, Alaska (KTUU) – An Alaska drug task force seized roughly $162,000 worth of controlled substances during an operation in Juneau Thursday, according to the Juneau Police Department.
Around 3 p.m. Thursday, investigators with the Southeast Alaska Cities Against Drugs (SEACAD) approached 50-year-old Juneau resident Jermiah Pond in the Nugget Mall parking lot while he was sitting in his car, according to JPD.
A probation search of the car revealed a container holding about 7.3 gross grams of a substance that tested presumptively positive for methamphetamine, as well as about 1.21 gross grams of a substance that tested presumptively positive for fentanyl.
As part of the investigation, investigators executed a search warrant at Pond’s residence, during which they found about 46.63 gross grams of ketamine, 293.56 gross grams of fentanyl, 25.84 gross grams of methamphetamine and 25.5 gross grams of MDMA.
In all, it amounted to just less than a pound of drugs worth $162,500.
Investigators also seized $102,640 in cash and multiple recreational vehicles believed to be associated with the investigation.
Pond was lodged on charges of second-degree misconduct involving a controlled substance, two counts of third-degree misconduct involving a controlled substance, five counts of fourth-degree misconduct involving a substance and an outstanding felony probation warrant.
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Copyright 2026 KTUU. All rights reserved.
SAND POINT, Alaska (KTUU) – A teenage boy who was last seen Monday when the canoe he was in tipped over has been found by a dive team in a lake near Sand Point, according to a person familiar with the situation.
Alaska’s News Source confirmed with the person, who is close to the search efforts, that the dive team found 15-year-old Kaipo Kaminanga deceased Thursday in Red Cove Lake, located a short drive from the town of Sand Point on the Aleutian Island chain.
Kaminanga was last seen canoeing with three other friends on Monday when the boat tipped over.
A search and rescue operation ensued shortly after.
Alaska Dive Search Rescue and Recovery Team posted on Facebook Thursday night that they were able to “locate and recover” Kaminanga at around 5 p.m. Thursday.
“We are glad we could bring closure to his family, friends and community,” the post said.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated when more details become available.
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Copyright 2026 KTUU. All rights reserved.
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