Jump to content
  • Sign Up
×
×
  • Create New...

[NASA] Ice Moves Out of Aniak

SpaceMan

By SpaceMan,
in World News

 Share

Recommended Posts

  • Diamond Member
SpaceMan Hunter

SpaceMan 0

Posted
  • Diamond Member
Posted
Earth Observatory
  1. This is the hidden content, please
  2. This is the hidden content, please
  3. Ice Moves Out of Aniak
 


This is the hidden content, please

This is the hidden content, please

April 21, 2026
May 7, 2026

This is the hidden content, please
A frozen river winds from east to west past Aniak, Alaska. Nearby meandering channels are also frozen, and much of the surrounding land is snow-covered.
NASA Earth Observatory/Michala Garrison

This is the hidden content, please
A river winds from east to west past Aniak, Alaska. Some stretches of the wide channel are still frozen over, while others contain broken-up ice. Most of the surrounding land is snow-free.
NASA Earth Observatory/Michala Garrison
April 21, 2026May 7, 2026

This is the hidden content, please
A frozen river winds from east to west past Aniak, Alaska. Nearby meandering channels are also frozen, and much of the surrounding land is snow-covered.
NASA Earth Observatory/Michala Garrison
This is the hidden content, please
A river winds from east to west past Aniak, Alaska. Some stretches of the wide channel are still frozen over, while others contain broken-up ice. Most of the surrounding land is snow-free.
NASA Earth Observatory/Michala Garrison

April 21, 2026

May 7, 2026


CurtainToggle2-Up

Image Details

The landscape along the Kuskokwim River near Aniak, Alaska, is frozen on April 21, 2026 (left), while spring melt and river ice breakup are evident on May 7, 2026 (right). Both images were acquired with the 
This is the hidden content, please
 (Operational Land Imager) on 
This is the hidden content, please
. NASA Earth Observatory images by Michala Garrison.

Thawing may be a welcome sight for Alaskans following a

This is the hidden content, please
winter and early spring in much of the state. But with melting comes the threat of rapid flooding in low-lying areas as river ice breaks up and periodically jams.

The landscape along the Kuskokwim River appeared frozen in a

This is the hidden content, please
image acquired on April 21, 2026 (left). According to observations published by the
This is the hidden content, please
, river ice near the town of Aniak was thick and still covered in deep snow as of April 16. The Kuskokwim ice road connecting numerous villages traces a dark line down the river. The thick river ice supported a route that extended about 350 miles (560 kilometers) in winter 2025-2026 and shut down for the season on April 10, according to
This is the hidden content, please
.

Conditions were changing quickly around May 7, when the right image was acquired. The previous day, the front of the ice breakup had nearly reached Aniak, and a sheet of grounded ice caused a

This is the hidden content, please
that stretched
This is the hidden content, please
(34 kilometers) upstream. News reports showed ice chunks several feet thick
This is the hidden content, please
around the town. Ice became unstuck by May 7, and the backup, visible above (right), had started to flow downstream.

Aniak remained at risk, however, as ice clogged the river later that night, this time several miles downstream from the community. Waters began to rise, and a

This is the hidden content, please
was issued for the town on May 8. Water inundated
This is the hidden content, please
and encroached on homes and businesses near the east side of the runway, according to
This is the hidden content, please
, before receding two days later.

Flooding caused by

This is the hidden content, please
can be most hazardous when heavy snowpack and thick ice remain in place from the winter and there’s a sudden transition from freezing to warmer temperatures. In what is known as a dynamic breakup, snowmelt encounters intact ice and causes water to back up quickly. On the other hand, if ice weakens before significant snowmelt or ice from upstream arrives, jams are less likely to form.

This is the hidden content, please
that spring 2026 showed warning signs of a dynamic breakup. Snowpack was above average in some major river drainages, and historically low temperatures marked the winter and spring months in many places. For example, the
This is the hidden content, please
in Bethel, downstream of Aniak, was 14 degrees Fahrenheit (8 degrees Celsius) below normal. However, floods had been relatively minor along the large rivers through early May,
This is the hidden content, please
, while cautioning that more severe flooding still has the potential to develop quickly.

NASA Earth Observatory images by Michala Garrison, using Landsat data from the 

This is the hidden content, please
. Story by Lindsey Doermann.

Downloads

This is the hidden content, please

April 21, 2026

JPEG (21.62 MB)

This is the hidden content, please

May 7, 2026

JPEG (21.49 MB)

References & Resources

  • Alaska and Arctic Climate Newsletter (2026, May 8)
    This is the hidden content, please
    . Accessed May 13, 2026.
  • Alaska’s News Source (2026, May 9)
    This is the hidden content, please
    . Accessed May 13, 2026.
  • Alaska’s News Source (2026, April 24)
    This is the hidden content, please
    . Accessed May 13, 2026.
  • Alaska-Pacific River Forecast Center (2026)
    This is the hidden content, please
    . Accessed May 13, 2026.
  • KYUK (2026, May 9)
    This is the hidden content, please
    . Accessed May 13, 2026.
  • Lindsey, S. (2019)
    This is the hidden content, please
    . Alaska Park Science, 18(1): 70-75.

You may also be interested in:

Stay up-to-date with the latest content from NASA as we explore the universe and discover more about our home planet.

This is the hidden content, please

This is the hidden content, please

This is the hidden content, please

This is the hidden content, please

3 min read

Ice in the Hudson River hugged the shore of Manhattan amid a deep freeze.

Article
This is the hidden content, please

This is the hidden content, please

This is the hidden content, please

This is the hidden content, please

3 min read

Nearly 50 years ago, the first Landsat satellite captured the rare sight of Mid-Atlantic waterways frozen over.

Article
This is the hidden content, please

This is the hidden content, please

This is the hidden content, please

This is the hidden content, please

5 min read

Scientists relied on satellite data to understand how the Antarctic glacier lost so much ice so rapidly.

Article

This is the hidden content, please

0
Link to comment
https://hopzone.eu/forums/topic/313073-nasa-ice-moves-out-of-aniak/
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Vote for the server

    To vote for this server you must login.

    Jim Carrey Flirting GIF

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.

Important Information

Privacy Notice: We utilize cookies to optimize your browsing experience and analyze website traffic. By consenting, you acknowledge and agree to our Cookie Policy, ensuring your privacy preferences are respected.

  I accept