Flood in Alaska, July 4 to 5, 2002

Name: Flood in Alaska, July 4 to 5, 2002
Start: 2002-07-04T02:29
End: 2002-07-05T10:55
Location: Alaska

July 4 to 5, 2002 · NWS AFG · 1 event in 1 county or zone

71 inches of rain fell over the upper Chena Basin in the 24 hours ending on the evening of July 3rd. This produced flooding of Chena Hot Springs Road at mile 37 enough to make the road impassible for low-clearance vehicles (about 10 to 15 inches of water).

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
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 AFG wrote it up.

Between 1 inch and 1.71 inches of rain fell over the upper Chena Basin in the 24 hours ending on the evening of July 3rd. This produced flooding of Chena Hot Springs Road at mile 37 enough to make the road impassible for low-clearance vehicles (about 10 to 15 inches of water).

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Fairbanks, AK wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 3, 1:30 PM AST, 12 hours 59 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 3, 1:30 PM AST, 12 hours 59 minutes before

NORTH ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION
230 PM ADT WED JUL 3 2002

STRONG WEST TO NORTHWEST FLOW ALOFT...BETWEEN COLD LOW NEAR 80N/145W
AND BIG HIGH OVER THE SOUTHERN BERING SEA...WILL REMAIN THROUGH THE
WEEKEND EVEN AS THE UPPER HIGH DISSIPATES BY SAT EVENING. THE UPPER
LOW WILL ROTATE CYCLONICALLY TO 76N/155W BY 12Z SUNDAY...WITH SOUTHWEST
FLOW BUT SOMEWHAT HIGHER HEIGHTS OVER MUCH OF THE FORECAST AREA. MAJOR
FORECAST PROBLEM WILL BE TIMING OF SHORTWAVES IN THIS FLOW.

12Z MODELS IN REASONABLY GOOD AGREEMENT ON EVOLUTION OF PATTERN.
MID RANGE MODELS ARE COMING INTO AGREEMENT ON BUILDING A NORTHWEST TO
SOUTHEAST ORIENTED RIDGE FROM ALBERTA INTO EASTERN ALASKA BY EARLY
NEXT WEEK.

FOR THE NORTH SLOPE...LITTLE OVERALL CHANGE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS...
THOUGH THE AIRMASS SHOULD MODIFY SOMEWHAT. SHOWERS CONTINUING IN THE
CYCLONIC FLOW.

FOR THE WEST COAST...NEXT THREAT OF SIGNIFICANT RAIN WILL BE WITH A WAVE
MOVING INTO CHUKOTKA ON FRIDAY. IT COULD BE COLD ENOUGH NORTHWEST OF
KOTZEBUE FOR SOME SNOW FRIDAY NIGHT.

FOR THE INTERIOR...WELL DEFINED FRONT IN AN ARC FROM SOUTHEAST OF INUVIK
TO NORTH OF EAGLE TO NORTH OF DELTA JUNCTION TO KANTISHNA TO SOUTH
OF MCGRATH AT 22Z. NARROW BUT PERSISTENT BAND OF MODERATE TO HEAVY RAIN
WITH THIS FEATURE WILL CONTINUE SOUTHWARD TONIGHT. DRIER AND COOLER
AIR BEHIND FRONT. AIRMASS STARTS TO MODERATE THURSDAY BUT LIKELY COOL
ENOUGH FOR FLAT STRATOCUMULUS. WEAK TROUGH IN THE UPPER FLOW MAY BRING
SOME HIGH CLOUDS THURSDAY NIGHT/FRIDAY...WITH NEXT THREAT OF RAIN
THURSDAY NIGHT/FRIDAY WITH NEXT WAVE MOVING EASTWARD FROM CHUKOTKA.

.AFG...WATCH/WARNING SUMMARY
MARINE...GALE WRN 14. SCA ERN 14..WRN 9B.

RT JUL 02

Event by event

1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flood, Middle Tanana Valley

When: July 4, 2:29 AM AST to July 5, 10:55 AM AST
Where: Middle Tanana Valley forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.

What these are

Flood: Flooding that develops more slowly than a flash flood: rivers leaving their banks, or water standing over land for an extended time.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Alaska in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Alaska, July 2002

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: 5306635.