Assessment of Current Ice Conditions Relevant to Distribution and Access of Walrus
Synopsis: Northerly flow will persist across the Bering region headed into the weekend. This will maintain the dry, but cooler than normal weather pattern through the weekend. Wind speeds look to increase through the Bering Strait down into the northern Bering Sea over the weekend, but will diminish by early next week. Meanwhile next week will feature a series of low-pressure systems passing through the southern Bering Sea enroute to the northern Gulf of Alaska. As a result, the overall flow pattern will shift and become more easterly. Expect moderating temperatures through the week next week with the potential for a few spotty light rain/snow showers at times.
Near St. Lawrence Island
Sea ice is mainly moving with tides and currents. The very close to consolidated pack ice exists from Kangee Camp eastward through Camp Kulowiyi and consists of medium to vast floes with isolated giant floes. Shorefast ice between Powooiliak (Pugughileq) Camp and Siknik Training Camp and Camp Kulowiyi is visibly degrading along the ice edge and may be gone within the week. Shorefast ice between Gambell and Camp Kulowiyi is showing no signs of degradation and looks intact. Areas of open to close pack ice are flowing west of the island around Gambell and are composed of brash ice to small floes, though medium to big floes exist southwest of the island.
Nome
This area has not yet begun for the 2026 season..
Brevig Mission/Port Clarence Area
This area has not yet begun for the 2026 season.
Wales to Shishmaref
Shorefast ice between Wales and Shishmaref remains intact with no signs of decay within the last week. Very close to consolidated ice continues to flow northward through the Bering Strait. Local currents are keeping an area of open water to very open pack ice off of the shorefast ice north of Shishmaref and small areas of open water west of Ikpek.
Diomede
This area has not yet begun for the 2026 season.
Forecast Discussion
Ice Forecast
St. Lawrence Island:
Very slow decay of ice is expected through the next week. The biggest question is will the upcoming northerly winds be able to override the local currents that have brought the large area of open water northwest of Gambell? I suspect that the area of open water will stall or slow in expansion to the northeast, but the currents will keep moving the close to very close pack ice west of Booshu Camp past Gambell, becoming open pack ice in the process. The big to vast floes in that area will likely stay as such and not decay to smaller forms.
Wales to Shishmaref:
The developing northerly winds will possibly close some of the smaller areas of open water off the shorefast ice west of Ikpek. However, it remains possible that the local currents do keep some areas of very open pack ice or open water, especially the larger area to the north of Shishmaref. Shorefast ice looks to remain intact over the next week with no big warm-ups on the horizon.
Wind Synopsis
St. Lawrence Island:
Light northeasterly winds are expected Friday with winds expected to strengthen over the weekend with general speeds of 15 to 20 mph. As a storm passes to the south, winds will shift from the east by Monday at speeds of 20 to 30 mph. This will be the windiest day of the week as easterly winds should drop back into the 10 to 15 mph range for the rest of the week.
Wales to Shish:
Northerly onshore winds will occur Friday and Saturday with general speeds of 10 to 15 mph increasing to 15 to 20 mph by Saturday evening. The winds will be strongest near Wales with winds slightly lower for Shish. Winds will shift and blow from the east by Sunday afternoon with offshore flow continuing through midweek at speeds of 10 to 15 mph. Winds should shift back from the north by Thursday and become gusty at times. Gusts of 20 to 25 mph will be possible by late next week.
Temperature Trend
St. Lawrence Island:
Cooler than normal temps are expected to continue through the weekend with highs near the freezing mark and lows in the lower 20’s. As for the following week, temps will warm a bit with highs generally in the upper 30’s and lows near or slightly below freezing.
Wales to Shish:
Cooler than normal temps will prevail through the weekend with high temperatures generally in the upper 20’s and lows in the middle teens. A warming trend sets in for Monday through Wednesday with highs reaching the upper 30’s at Wales and potential as warm as 40 at Shish with overnight lows in the mid to upper 20’s. Temps will then drop by a few degrees for Thursday and Friday as the winds shift back to the north.
Daily Weather, Wind, and Temperature Updates
The National Weather Service provides twice-daily, text only updates on the weather, wind, and temperature conditions in specific geographical zones. An interactive weather map for access to other Alaskan zones can be found here: http://weather.gov/anchorage/ice
Higher resolution satellite images and wind maps (wind updated daily) can be viewed here: http://www.weather.gov/afg/SIWO_overview
The Alaska Ocean Observing System shares a variety of weather and sea ice related resources in their Bering Sea Portal at https://bering-sea.portal.aoos.org/.
NWS Sea Ice Forecast Maps
Marine forecast for the West Coast and Arctic Coast
Remote Sensing Images
Observations & Comments
Observations of Local Conditions
Observations from Sivuqaq / Gambell
25° W 10 mph, swells. Ulevaataq, open water close by.
Observations from Sivungaq / Savoonga
Tuesday, 5 May 2026 – Aqef Waghiyi
Reindeer plant opened up yesterday. They round up just under 50 deer.
See video of the round-up at: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/FwGgCoKOCWc
Sunday, 10 May 2026 – Aqef Waghiyi
Can see open water way down there hopefully next south winds it’ll open up.
Images from Savoonga courtesy of Aqef Waghiyi.
Observations from Kingigin / Wales
Observation from Wales coming soon.
Observations from Kigiktaq / Shishmaref
Wednesday, 6 May 2026 – Christopher Ningeulook
Light north winds until Friday picking up slightly. Some hunters went to the ice edge up the coast by snow machine. A few people have brought their boats around to the ocean side. I put points on my windy app map for any possible points I might need weather forecasts. So a lot of people can see possible goose hunting or marine hunting forecasts on the same map.
Thursday, 7 May 2026 – Christopher Ningeulook
Dark clouds on the horizon reflecting from open water. See video at: https://youtube.com/shorts/y56GBCzZj4I?si=D_OVt-vkG23lnLCu
Weather forecast information from the Windy app and satellite image captures courtesy of Christopher Ningeulook.
Observations from Sitnasuaq / Nome
Photos from Nome courtesy of Bivers Gologergen.
Shared by the Alaska Ocean Observing System (AOOS) for 6-14 May 2026
The images below show animations of the movement of ice predicted by the HYbrid Coordinate Ocean Model (HYCOM). Snapshots from the forecast show ice coverage from 0% (black) to 100% (white) and arrows show the relative speed and direction of the ice. A light boundary is drawn at 15% predicted ice cover to highlight the ice edge, but ice may be predicted to extend beyond it. Some bays, lagoons, and areas very close to shore are not covered by the model. (Image produced by the Alaska Ocean Observing System / Axiom Data Science).
These animations show the predicted movement of ice predicted by the HYbrid Coordinate Ocean Model (HYCOM). Snapshots from the forecast show ice coverage from 0% (black) to 100% (white) and arrows show the relative speed and direction of the ice. A light boundary is drawn at 15% predicted ice cover to highlight the ice edge, but ice may be predicted to extend beyond it. Some bays, lagoons, and areas very close to shore are not covered by the model. (Image produced by the Alaska Ocean Observing System / Axiom Data Science)