Public Media for Alaska's Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta
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Kuskokwim River Ice Still Holding In McGrath

The ice moved out of Nikolai on Monday, April 20, but is still holding further down the Kuskokwim River in McGrath. Public radio station KSKO's general manager, Dave Patty, went out on the river earlier on Thursday, April 23. He said that there was more open water near shore, but the tripod for McGrath’s Ice Classic was still standing.  

Typically, McGrath’s river ice goes out 10 days after the river clears in Nikolai. That would mean the ice should be gone by the middle of next week. Patty says that it could go out faster, though, because the forecast calls for a sunny weekend.

The worry was that the unusually large amount of snow this spring would cause flooding, but Patty says that the ground seems to absorbing the melt so far. There is still about a foot of snow on the ground in McGrath.