Fat Bear Week 2026 winner: Who was crowned champ of Katmai?

Fat Bear Week is back, and it’s about to get bear-y competitiveThe bears have officially broken the internet. But honestly, can you blame us all for wanting a front-row seat to the fattest showdown of the year? When Fat Bear Week voting opened Tuesday, the rush was so big it overwhelmed the voting site. Explore.org said it was the biggest Day 1 turnout in the competition’s history, with the system experiencing an overload. And the first four matchups delivered some seriously bear-y big results.132 Family and 806 Family lumbered past their rivals, while 909 and 910 also punched their tickets to the next round. The bracket is already getting slimmer (although, the bears are not). Bear 909 competes during Fat Bear Week 2026.(T. Carmack)Now, the reigning champ is back in action. Bear 32, better known as "Chunk," is facing Bear 164, “Bucky,” in today’s matchup. Get More of Our News on GoogleSet The Weather Company as a 'Preferred Source' to get quicker access to the news you value. Even the feds are getting in on the fun.

Fat Bear Week is back, and it’s about to get bear-y competitiveThe fur is flying, the salmon are disappearing and Fat Bear Week is officially underway! Our team of meteorologists has studied the contenders, and they have each picked the bear they think has what it takes to go all the way. Before you make your own pick, watch our video above to meet the contestants, then grab our Fat Bear Week bracket and bingo cards and join us for all the bear-y big fun. Bear 132 and familyBear 132 and cubs compete during Fat Bear Week 2026.(C. Loberg)WHO: Caitlin Kaiser, meteorologistWHY: What's better than one fat bear? Four fat bears! This mother bear is known for being one of the biggest and most experienced at Brooks River, meaning she has been around the block a few times. Bear 132 knows how to keep her cubs safe and healthy, including helping them bulk up for the winter ahead. The fact that she could add on the pounds while also making sure her three cubs did too is downright impressive!(MORE: Scout last year's Fat Bear Week champion)Bear 909Bear 909 competes during Fat Bear Week 2026.(T.

Fat Bear Week is back, and it’s about to get bear-y competitiveIt’s about to get bear-y competitive in Alaska’s Katmai National Park. Fat Bear Week 2026 is back, and this year you’re not just voting for your favorite chunky champion. You can fill out a Fat Bear Week bracket, follow the matchups and play live-cam bingo while watching some of Alaska’s biggest brown bears do what they do best: eat. Get your Fat Bear Week bracket readyThink March Madness, but make it bears. Sixteen of the biggest, beefiest brown bears have been selected to compete in this year’s single-elimination Fat Bear Week tournament. Your job is simple: Look at each head-to-head matchup and vote for the bear that best represents “fatness and success” in preparing for winter hibernation. The matchups can be found over at FatBearWeek.org. Get More of Our News on GoogleSet The Weather Company as a 'Preferred Source' to get quicker access to the news you value.(MORE: Bears can eat 20,000 calories a day to pack on the pounds)The competition includes mothers with cubs, single females and single males. And yes, last year’s champion, 32, also known as “Chunk,” is back to defend his title. Fat Bear Week voting runs Sept.

The next fall nor’easter is brewing off the North Carolina coast, setting the stage for extensive impacts throughout the week. The National Hurricane Center is now highlighting this area for potential tropical development, with a 30% chance over the next seven days. WHAT IS A NOR’EASTER? Regardless of tropical development, the Outer Banks are expected to see long-term impacts, including intense wind gusts from the approaching nor’easter, while the storm sits off the coast. The main concern for the Outer Banks region will be intense wind gusts as strong as 40 to 60 mph, fueling moderate coastal flooding and destructive waves. A mandatory evacuation for locals on Hatteras Island is in effect, as storm conditions are expected to worsen, with the potential for significant ocean overwash. This graphic shows the Wind Alerts for the upcoming Nor’easter.(FOX Weather) According to the FOX Forecast Center, the impacts will last through late Wednesday evening and into Thursday, totaling three days of nasty storms with ferocious wind gusts.

Toronto and Montreal have remained above the freezing mark every day for almost six months. While frosts and even some snowflakes have intruded across parts of Ontario and Quebec in recent weeks, the two cities have yet to reach that magic number. What’s even more remarkable is that a handful of communities across the southern United States have already dipped to the freezing point--and some have even seen accumulating snowfall. DON’T MISS: Official: Canada records first -30°C reading of the seasonThe last time we saw a freezing temperature in either Toronto or Montreal was the second-to-last week of April. Toronto hit -1.3°C early on April 20, while Montreal dipped to -2.0°C the following morning. Our average first frost in both cities occurs right around the middle of October. But warmer-than-normal years can see this milestone slide several weeks past due. Montreal once had to wait 207 consecutive days for its first frost, with the city’s first subfreezing temperature in 2017 waiting until Nov. 7. The latest Toronto’s had to wait to hit the zero-degree mark was Nov. 13, 2022.

Tropical cyclones top the list of nature’s most powerful storms. Larger than tornadoes and more intense than any single thunderstorm, these systems can change the landscape when they swirl ashore. A handful of tropical cyclones take full advantage of their surroundings to achieve the apex of their potential, the strongest storms nature can produce. DON’T MISS: What’s the difference between hurricanes, typhoons, and cyclones? Tiny fraction of storms achieve upper limitsOnly about 4 per cent of all the world’s recorded tropical cyclones have reached the equivalent of Category 5 strength. Most tropical cyclones are relatively weak and short lived because it’s tough for all the necessary ingredients to align just right. But explosive development can result when all those factors come together in perfect harmony. Strongest Winds: Hurricane PatriciaAn exceptionally favourable setup off the western shores of Mexico in late-Oct. 2015 allowed Hurricane Patricia to grow into the world’s strongest hurricane since reliable observations began in 1966.