Bad Weather

A Seldovia power outage has taken the translators for Channel 2's signal in Homer offline. The Homer Electric Association is aware of the problem and trying to access the site for repairs, but was unable to do so Thursday because of bad weather. It's not clear how long the translators will remain offline.

STORY UPDATED AT 7:52 p.m. at 5/19/13: Alaska State Troopers say weather continues to hamper the search for two snowmachiners near Kotzebue. Shallain Adams, 23 of Noorvik, and Clifford Griest, 32 of Selawik, left Kotzebue early Wednesday morning on a black Polaris IQ snowmachine destined for Selawik. Over 70 searchers from Kotzebue, Selawik, Noorvik, Kiana, Noatak and Buckland have been involved in the ground search, but “efforts have been hampered by periodic bad weather. On Saturday, an Alaska wildlife trooper flew for a couple of hours before fog and blowing snow turned the pilot back.

A Nunapitchuk snowmachiner missing in blizzard conditions was found dead Thursday after becoming separated from another snowmachiner near Nightmute early Wednesday morning, according to Alaska State Troopers. AST spokesperson Megan Peters says 20-year-old Jed Alexie was spotted from the air about six miles east of Toksook Bay by a passing pilot Thursday morning, shortly after search teams left nearby villages to continue looking for him. Searchers reached the scene at about 11 a.m. and confirmed to troopers that Alexie was dead; troopers were responding Thursday afternoon.

by Channel 2 News staff Wednesday, April 14, 2010 Troopers have suspended their search for a missing snowmachiner near Talkeetna after no sign of him has been found since the day he was reported missing. Bad weather and a lack of any signs of Charles Palmer V, 30, who was last seen by his snowmachining party Saturday night. His snowmachine was found on Sunday, stuck in deep snow near Sheep River, but since then searchers have been unable to locate any sign of Palmer.

by The Associated Press Sunday, February 7, 2010 SEWARD, Alaska -- A snowmachiner who was injured when he rode off a cliff near Seward has been rescued after spending a night outdoors in blizzard-like conditions. The Coast Guard says rescuers from the Alaska State Troopers, Alaska Wildlife Troopers and other agencies reached the injured Don Feltman of Kenai after a tough, 11-mile ride on Friday. They stabilized the 49-year-old and stayed with him through the night in the Nellie-Juan Lake area.

by The Associated Press Sunday, March 7, 2010 FAIRBANKS, Alaska -- Alaska Air National Guard emergency responders parachuted in to a remote interior Alaska location to help a man stricken with chest pains. An Army helicopter from Fort Wainwright later Saturday picked up the man and the rescue crew. Alaska State Troopers received word that the 57-year-old man was at a cabin 50 miles northwest of Clear. His son said he had chest pains radiating to his arms and hands.

Bad weather has delayed the start of polar explorer Lonnie Dupre's third solo summit of Mount McKinley. Dupre is in Talkeetna with a crew while waiting for a break in the weather. He said low clouds prevented his trip to Kahiltna Glacier on Sunday. In January 2011, Dupre nearly reached the top of the summit when he climbed 17,200 feet. He had to turn back due to poor weather. In 2012, his climb was cut short because of poor weather conditions. Dupre said he has learned patience from his climbing experiences and that in perfect weather, the climb could be completed in as little as 12 days.

Despite a very rainy cool summer many vendors at the Anchorage market and festival say business was good. Todd Salat takes pictures of beautiful days for a living but he says bad weather is actual best for business. Salat says, “We like the gray overcast, there's less reflections on our pictures. People seem to be more interested in art. Maybe even the colors are more vibrant on the gray weather days. " In the 15 years he's been selling photos at the Anchorage market this year has been his best ever.

by Channel 2 News staff Saturday, February 27, 2010 Editor's Note: A previous version of this story incorrectly reported the cost of the repairs. We apologize for the error. ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- It's supposed to warn drivers about avalanches, bad weather and Amber Alerts -- but it's not working. The state Department of Transportation says problems with the sign on the Seward Highway started about a year ago because of electronic problems, and parts for the computer controller are no longer made.

STORY UPDATED AT 7:52 p.m. at 5/19/13: Alaska State Troopers say weather continues to hamper the search for two snowmachiners near Kotzebue. Shallain Adams, 23 of Noorvik, and Clifford Griest, 32 of Selawik, left Kotzebue early Wednesday morning on a black Polaris IQ snowmachine destined for Selawik. Over 70 searchers from Kotzebue, Selawik, Noorvik, Kiana, Noatak and Buckland have been involved in the ground search, but “efforts have been hampered by periodic bad weather. On Saturday, an Alaska wildlife trooper flew for a couple of hours before fog and blowing snow turned the pilot back.

Bad weather has delayed the start of polar explorer Lonnie Dupre's third solo summit of Mount McKinley. Dupre is in Talkeetna with a crew while waiting for a break in the weather. He said low clouds prevented his trip to Kahiltna Glacier on Sunday. In January 2011, Dupre nearly reached the top of the summit when he climbed 17,200 feet. He had to turn back due to poor weather. In 2012, his climb was cut short because of poor weather conditions. Dupre said he has learned patience from his climbing experiences and that in perfect weather, the climb could be completed in as little as 12 days.

Municipality of Anchorage and state leaders want to make the best of what's been a stormy September. Monday, officials held a public meeting to discuss disaster response and improving future planning. Severe weather doesn't always have a direct path. It's hard to predict what will happen, and government officials can only tell people to be ready. Sen. Bill Wielechowski said people should be prepared for major weather events that seem to be the Alaska norm. "You have bad weather, extreme weather, that's Alaska, you're never going to get rid of that, but we've just got to be prepared for it, and I think one of the most important things people can learn from this is you have to be somewhat self reliant," he said.

Despite a very rainy cool summer many vendors at the Anchorage market and festival say business was good. Todd Salat takes pictures of beautiful days for a living but he says bad weather is actual best for business. Salat says, “We like the gray overcast, there's less reflections on our pictures. People seem to be more interested in art. Maybe even the colors are more vibrant on the gray weather days. " In the 15 years he's been selling photos at the Anchorage market this year has been his best ever.

A Seldovia power outage has taken the translators for Channel 2's signal in Homer offline. The Homer Electric Association is aware of the problem and trying to access the site for repairs, but was unable to do so Thursday because of bad weather. It's not clear how long the translators will remain offline.

A Nunapitchuk snowmachiner missing in blizzard conditions was found dead Thursday after becoming separated from another snowmachiner near Nightmute early Wednesday morning, according to Alaska State Troopers. AST spokesperson Megan Peters says 20-year-old Jed Alexie was spotted from the air about six miles east of Toksook Bay by a passing pilot Thursday morning, shortly after search teams left nearby villages to continue looking for him. Searchers reached the scene at about 11 a.m. and confirmed to troopers that Alexie was dead; troopers were responding Thursday afternoon.

An Alaskan man is back home after being stranded on Mt. Everest -- half a world away -- along with more than one thousand other mountain climbers. Andy Baugh returned to Anchorage Monday, as his wife Abbie and daughter Sloan waited for him at the airport. Baugh was airlifted out of the base camp at Everest along with his father and brother who had also made the trip -- something his father had originally thought up. Bad weather at the base camp at Everest had stranded thousands of climbers there for six days.

Lonnie Dupre, a polar explorer who has travelled more than 15,000 miles in Arctic and polar regions, is back off Denali after harsh weather cut short his attempt at a solo ascent. Dupre, from Minnesota, spent more than 20 days on the mountain -- but says this is one of the shortest expeditions he's been on, and that he expected to take a month to reach the top. Only 16 people have ever reached the 20,320-foot summit of Denali in winter. “I was basically 13 hours from reaching the summit,” Dupre said.

After months of rain and cold weather, the sunshine peaked over the Mat-Su Valley this week just long enough to clear the fields for the fall harvest. It's the philosophy of farmers: take the good in with the bad, and pick out the best from both. “We call ourselves quality control,” said Ben VanderWeele of VanderWeele Farms. “Today we are harvesting head lettuce -- we are harvesting usually about three or four times a week, depending on the orders.” It took five days for VanderWeele to start forgetting the months of rain, humidity, and cold temperatures, as just a few days of sunshine turned the harvest around.

by Channel 2 News staff Wednesday, April 14, 2010 Troopers have suspended their search for a missing snowmachiner near Talkeetna after no sign of him has been found since the day he was reported missing. Bad weather and a lack of any signs of Charles Palmer V, 30, who was last seen by his snowmachining party Saturday night. His snowmachine was found on Sunday, stuck in deep snow near Sheep River, but since then searchers have been unable to locate any sign of Palmer.