Flood in Alaska, May 13, 2005

Name: Flood in Alaska, May 13, 2005
Start: 2005-05-13T09:00
End: 2005-05-13T21:00
Location: Alaska

May 13, 2005 · NWS AFG · 1 event in 1 county or zone

An Ice Jam on the Kobuk River produced minor flooding of roads at the village of Ambler. Damage amount unknown but likely small.

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.

An Ice Jam on the Kobuk River produced minor flooding of roads at the village of Ambler. Damage amount unknown but likely small.

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 May 13, 5:00 AM AST, 4 hours earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 13, 5:00 AM AST, 4 hours before

NORTH ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION
600 AM ADT FRI MAY 13 2005

.DISCUSSION...

ALOFT...A 527 DM LOW AT 500 MB HAS MOVED EAST INTO THE NORTHERN
PACIFIC OCEAN. THIS FEATURE HAS FORCED THE RIDGE...WHICH WAS
PREVIOUSLY PARKED EAST-WEST ACROSS THE STATE...TO THE NORTHEAST
INTO WESTERN CANADA. SHORTWAVE ENERGY ROTATING AROUND THE UPPER
LOW HAS NIBBLED AWAY AT THE RIDGE FROM THE SOUTH.

MODELS ARE SIMILAR IN THE SHORT TERM WITH THE GFS KEEPING
INDIVIDUAL SHORTWAVES STRONGER THAN THE NAM. THIS SHOULD ONLY BE A
CONCERN FOR THE SOUTHWESTERN PORTION OF OUR FORECAST AS FAR AS
DIFFERENCES IN MODEL SOLUTIONS. THE GFS BEING WETTER WITH STRONGER
WINDS OVER THE SOUTHWEST.

SURFACE...THE REMNANTS OF A SHORTWAVE HAS A SURFACE REFLECTION
OVER THE YUKON DELTA. THIS HAS BEEN A FOCAL POINT FOR SHOWERS AND
A FEW THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE PAST 24 HOURS. A WEAKENING
OCCLUSION/TROUGH ASSOCIATED WITH THIS FEATURE STRETCHES ACROSS THE
INTERIOR. MOISTURE MOVING NORTH TOWARD THE ALASKA RANGE FROM THE
NEXT IN A SERIES OF SHORTWAVES WILL INTERACT WITH THE TROUGH TO
TOUCH OFF SHOWERS ACROSS THE INTERIOR TODAY.

WHILE THE RIDGE REMAINS GENERALLY IN PLACE THROUGH THE
WEEKEND...EACH SHORTWAVE WILL SEND MOISTURE ACROSS THE ALASKA
RANGE THEN NORTHWEST TO THE WESTERN COAST. PRECIPITATION AMOUNTS
WILL BE LIGHT ACROSS THE INTERIOR WITH HIGHER AMOUNTS AS YOU MOVE
FARTHER TO THE WEST. AS THE PRECIPITATION MOVES INTO COLDER AIR IN
PLACE ACROSS NORTHWEST ALASKA...RAIN SHOWERS WILL MIX AND CHANGE
TO SNOW SHOWERS.

FOG WILL CONTINUE TO HAMPER THE ARCITC COAST AT TIMES THROUGH 36
HOURS.

.HYDRO...FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT UNTIL SATURDAY AFTERNOON FOR PILOT
STATION IN ZONE 214.

.FIRE WEATHER...MOISTURE MOVING NORTH FROM THE GULF OF ALASKA WILL
RAISE HUMIDITIES SLIGHTLY ACROSS THE INTERIOR. THERE MAY ALSO BE A
FEW SHOWERS AND POSSIBLY A THUNDERSTORM THIS AFTERNOON AS CLEARING
COMBINED WITH RESIDUAL LOW-LEVEL MOISTURE MAY ALLOW FOR CONVECTION
TO DEVELOP.

.AFG WATCH/WARNING/ADVISORIES...
PUBLIC...DENSE FOG ADVISORY UNTIL NOON
           ZONE 203
         FLOOD WATCH UNTIL SATURDAY AFTERNOON FOR PILOT STATION
           ZONE 214
MARINE...GALE WARNING UNTIL SATURDAY MORNING
           AREA 9B
         HEAVY FREEZING SPRAY WARNING UNTIL SATURDAY MORNING
           AREA 9B
         BRISK WIND ADVISORY UNTIL SATURDAY MORNING
           AREA 10B AND 11A

AT MAY 05

Event by event

1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flood, Upper Kobuk and Noatak Vlys

When: May 13, 9:00 AM AST to 9:00 PM AST
Where: Upper Kobuk and Noatak Vlys forecast zone
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC

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 2005 Every state in 2005 This day in weather history Warnings in Alaska, May 2005

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: 5449333.