Our Alaska Friends

[kajamelu4]

Are any of you in the danger zone (so to speak) from the flooding going on up there? I've been reading this morning of roads and trains closed down due to heavy rains. Wondering if you all are safe?

Karol

[rooster]

Karol, So far my feet are dry. Yesterday here on the Kenai peninsula it was sunny and warm. Today is high overcast about 60 degrees.
Fred up in Fairbanks lives high on a hill, so I know hes nice and dry, as for any more teardroppers in the area, I don't know.
Thanks for worring about us.

Jim,

[Dean in Eureka, CA]

Jim,
Don't you have a new hat yet to keep your head dry???
Uh-Oh... You moved when you got married, huh???
I hope you are having your mail forwarded for a while yet...

[alaska teardrop]

Thanks for thinking of us, Karol,

The flooding is in the Matanuska-Susitna River Valleys between 250 & 350 miles south of here. Doesn't sound like anyone is injured, but a big mess. People flooded out, Parks Highway & Alaska Railroad bridges wiped out. Bummer for the tourists too.

52* & sunny this morning.

Hi Jim

[Juneaudave]

The flooding is a long way from Juneau...but here's a clip from todays news...

Consecutive streak of rain ties record for year in Juneau
There was measurable precipitation at Juneau's Airport Saturday making it 21 days in a row for rain.

That ties the record for the year.

It rained 21 days in a row beginning April 22nd.

There's been no measurable precipitation yet today, according to the National Weather Service.

There's a 40 percent chance of rain today and a 50 percent chance tonight.

We're a long way from the all time record which is 49 consecutive days which started on September 29, 1999.

[toypusher]

I'll trade you some of your weather for some of ours. Has NOT rained here in 23 days now!!! Can you say DRY!!

[Juneaudave]

All I can say is "at least we don't have water bills in Juneau."

BTW...thanks, Karol, for your concern. The Parks Highway and Alaska Railroad (both which were closed due to the flooding), are the only way between Anchorage and Fairbanks without a big, big detour. Those two are pretty critical, and tourists heading towrds Denali must use one or the other.

The Mat-Su Valley (the main focus of the flooding) is a rapidly growing area with growth rates on par with Phoenix/Scottdale/Tucson, AZ. Unfortunately, the whole valley is subdivided into 1, 2 and 3 acre lots, each with their own septic and well. It's really become a bedroom community for Anchorage, and is a disaster waiting to happen. Too many people looking for their piece of Alaska tranquility, way too little in sewer and water infrastructure to support the growth. The biggest thing about the floods is that all those wells and sewers are not usable now.

Maybe this is a wakeup call!

[kajamelu4]

We were in the area in July. Took the train from Denali to Fairbanks. Spent the night in Talkeetna also. We went rafting on the river where the 3 rivers merge. It was an awesome trip! Hate to hear about all the troubles there. It is beautiful country! Glad to hear that you are all safe and sound. Alaska is such a big place, and I don't really know where everyone is located, except for Juneaudave of course!

Karol

[KenaiCubs]

Here in Anchorage we have had 11 consecutive days of rain. Some of the streams are flooding in town but nothing serious. As far as I have heard all of the damage up north is to roads and bridges so it's just a major nuisance.. All of this rain is the remains of two cyclones that hit Taiwan and Japan last week. Gotta love it! Oh and what JuneauDave isn't telling you is that Juneau is in a temperate rainforest! so he should be used to the rain

[kajamelu4]

We were in Alaska for 10 days. The first 4 were sunny and warm, including the day we spent in Juneau. Everyone kept telling us that the weather was unusual. The rest of the time, farther north, was misty and cool. We had a few rain showers, but nothing more that just a little while at a time. Here in Oklahoma, we are in a drought. Temps today in the 90's and that is a good cool down! I would love to have Alaska's weather right now!!!

Karol

[madjack]

hey Dave, I heard one of the cruise ships hadda "whale" offa problem when it docked...............................