The Northern Climate Observer

The Northern
Climate Observer

Dear NCO Readers,

The jet stream continues to deliver warm and wet weather to many areas of the Arctic. Some parts of Northwest Territories have been 10 degrees above normal, causing poor snow and ice conditions and freezing rain. This means transportation delays in the NWT and on Alaska's North Slope. Media in the Yukon Territory and Finland report an abbreviated sleep for some bears. As for local observations, King Cove residents delight in the abundance of a favorite shorebird. See links to observations and articles below.

Mike Brubaker, Editor

	Whats happening to winter? Unusual warm weather hits N.W.T Fort Liard, Northwest Territories, Canada Curtis Mandeville / CBC News / February 19, 2017 It is not uncommon in the Northwest Territories to have a few days of warmer weather here and there throughout the winter season. However, this winter seems to have had a few more warmer days, and more frequently than normal. Read article on CBC News
	Warm, wet weather prompts road closures Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada Ashley Joannou / Yukon News / February 15, 2017 Record-breaking warm temperatures had some people in Whitehorse basking in the sun. In Haines Junction it was raining so hard the sand was washing off the road. Read article on Yukon News
	Waiting for winter: ice roads mean the North Slope can get to work Utqiaġvik, Alaska, United States Elizabeth Harball / Alaska Public Media / February 17, 2017 Every winter, a massive infrastructure project takes place on the North Slope one thats designed to disappear. Ice roads are built to minimize the oil industrys footprint on the sensitive tundra, and melt away in spring. Many of the oil industrys multi-million dollar projects on the North Slope cant be built until the ice roads are finished each year. Read article on Alaska Public Media
	Go back to bed! Early-riser bear spotted near Whitehorse Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada CBC News / February 21, 2017 Wildlife officials typically tell Yukoners to keep an eye out for bears coming out of hibernation in April. 'We don't generally get sightings reported this time of year.' Read article on CBC News
	A sure sign of spring: Korkeasaari bears wake from winter hibernation Helsinki, Uusimaa, Finland Yle Uutiset / February 17, 2017 In Finland nothing means spring is around the corner more in the south than news that the brown bears at Helsinkis Korkeasaari Zoo have woken from their winters sleep. Zoo employees say the 16 and 11-year-old females hibernation is increasingly cut shorter as the years pass. Read article on Yle Uutiset
	Abundance of "Oyster Pickers" Black Oystercatchers (Haematopus bachmani) King Cove, Alaska, United States Dorothea Berntsen and Melissa Good / LEO Network / February 7, 2017 "I learned from a community member that they haven't seen these type of birds here within town, they usually see them on the islands that surround our cove. With the warming temps. people have noticed more and more different types of birds showing up in our community." Read post on the LEO Network

The Northern Climate Observer is published by the Center for Climate and Health. We track news coverage from across the circumpolar north and provide readers with a curated roundup of climate change related events. Thank you for reading our newsletter and for paying attention to our changing world.

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Northern Climate Observer

The Northern Climate Observer is published weekly by the Center for Climate and Health. We track news from across the circumpolar north and provide readers with a curated roundup of climate change related events.

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Northern Climate Observer

The Northern
Climate Observer