The good news is that the big storm forecasted for the Yukon Delta wasn’t that big after all, but the area isn’t in the clear. A blizzard warning is now in effect until noon on Thursday.
The National Weather Service predicted high waters and the possibility of major erosion Tuesday night due to storm surge, and expected that Kotlik would be the Yukon village hit hardest. But Kotlik resident Roger Aketachunak called the night “quiet,” describing it as “blowing snow, but not really stormy.”
Aketachunak said that the water did rise, but not enough to cause damage. No homes or boardwalks were affected; all the water did was climb about 30 yards to reach the outer pilings of the AC, the Alaska Commercial Company store.
“I’m happy everyone’s alright,” Aketachunak told KYUK multiple times.
That’s also the case in Alakanuk, where Tribal Administrator Ray Oney said that he slept with one eye open, but woke to find everything intact.
“Yeah, it was pretty much bank to bank in our area,” Oney said, “but other than that, I haven’t heard anyone say it went over the bank.”
The Yukon Delta remains under a blizzard warning through noon on Thursday. Whiteout conditions with drifting snow up to 12 inches are expected.
Anna Rose MacArthur is a reporter at KYUK in Bethel.
