Alaska, 1997

Flash Flood in Alaska, December 23 to 31, 1997

December 23 to 31, 1997 · NWS AFC · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Minor flooding occurred on the Kenai river downstream from Soldotna just below Big Eddy. The flooding was due to water backing up due to an ice jam.

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$50,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
1

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS AFC wrote it up.

Minor flooding occurred on the Kenai river downstream from Soldotna just below Big Eddy. The flooding was due to water backing up due to an ice jam. The jam formed in below zero temperatures, which created frazil ice. The frazil ice flowed downstream and came in contact with the ice cover, constricting the flow of the Kenai River. As of the 31st, the Kenai Borough reported damage to numerous docks and fish platforms due to high water and ice.

Event by event

1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Ck Inlt Susitna(C) / Homer(C)

When
December 23, 12:00 AM AST to December 31, 11:59 PM AST
Where
Ck Inlt Susitna(C) / Homer(C) County, Kenai
Property damage
$50,000

What these are

Flash Flood
Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Alaska in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Alaska, December 1997

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5620271.