Flooding in Alaska, June 7 to 8, 2007

Name: Flooding in Alaska, June 7 to 8, 2007
Start: 2007-06-07T17:00
End: 2007-06-08T20:00
Location: Alaska

June 7 to 8, 2007 · NWS AFG · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

A weak upper level low moved slowly east over the Yukon-Tanana Uplands on the 7th and 8th. Up to 3 of rain fell across the region over a 36 hour period.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 2

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.

A weak upper level low moved slowly east over the Yukon-Tanana Uplands on the 7th and 8th. Up to 3 of rain fell across the region over a 36 hour period.

Zone 223: The gage on the Goodpaster River does not have a very long period of record (8yrs). Flood stage has not been defined for this river so begin/end times of flooding has been estimated. Flooding occurred in June 2006 when the river reached a stage of 20.0' and the Goodpaster climbed to a new record stage of 20.24' at 12am AST on June 8th, 2007. During the 2006 event several cabins were surrounded by water and there was a significant amount of bank erosion reported. Therefore based on past records a stage of 20.24' would have resulted in significant overbank flooding. The USGS took a flow measurement the afternoon of June 8th, about 12 hrs after the crest, and reported that the river was flowing at bankfull levels (stage was 18.5'). No damage has been reported.

Zone 224: Fortymile River: The stage of 88.71' is the highest level on the Fortymile since 2001. Flood stage has not been defined for this river and the begin/end times of flooding have been estimated. Even at a high stages nothing is impacted near the gage site. The water was well up into the trees and it is assumed that a significant amount of water was flowing overbank in stretches along the river that are not as steep as the vicinity of the gage. No damage has been reported to NWS. Suction dredge miners and campers were likely the only people impacted in this remote drainage.

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 Jun 7, 7:40 AM AKST, 9 hours 20 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jun 7, 7:40 AM AKST, 9 hours 20 minutes before

NORTHERN ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FAIRBANKS AK
140 PM ADT THU JUN 7 2007

.DISCUSSION...
ALOFT...HIGH OVER ARCTIC OCEAN WITH A LOW OVER KODIAK ISLAND. LOW
WILL DRIFT NORTHWEST TO BRISTOL BAY SAT WHILE HIGH DRIFTS EAST
TOWARD BANKS ISLAND. TROUGH FROM LOW TO WHITEHORSE MOVING TO
BETHEL TO KOTZEBUE TO BETTLES 00Z SAT AND TO ROMANZOF TO BERING
STRAIT 12Z SAT. SECOND TROUGH FROM LOW TO KENAI PENINSULA 00Z SAT
MOVING TO BETHEL TO GOLOVIN TO KOTZEBUE 00Z SUN.

SURFACE...992 MB LOW OVER EASTERN SEWARD PENINSULA WITH TROUGH TO
LOW NEAR KODIAK ISLAND...THIS COMPLEX MOVING TO CHUKOTSK PENINSULA
TO SAINT LAWRENCE ISLAND TO NUNIVAK ISLAND 00Z SAT..AND DRIFTING
WEST THEREAFTER. 1027 MB HIGH NEAR BANKS ISLAND DRIFTING WEST OVER
ARCTIC OCEAN FRI NIGHT THROUGH SUN. THERMAL TROUGH FROM NOATAK TO
NORTH OF FORT YUKON REFORMING FROM AMBLER TO EAGLE 00Z SAT MOVING
TO AMBLER TO NORTHWAY 00Z SUN.

MODELS...VERY SIMILAR IN INITIALIZATION AND THROUGH FRI AFTERNOON
THEN PREFER GFS INTO SAT AS IT PICKS UP ON SECOND UPPER TROUGH
WHICH WRF/NAM DOES NOT.

NORTH SLOPE...EASTERLY WINDS DROPPING SOME FRI BUT INCREASING SAT
AS HIGH SHIFTS EAST A BIT AND SECOND TROUGH ROTATING OVER
SOUTHWEST ALASKA CAUSING INCREASE IN GRADIENT.

WESTERN ALASKA...SHOWERS TONIGHT IN ADVANCE OF FIRST UPPER TROUGH
MOVING WEST TONIGHT OVER OUTER WATERS TONIGHT AND FRI. THUNDERSTORMS
EXPECTED TONIGHT WITH BEST INSTABILITY OVER ZONES 208 209 217 BUT
OTHER LAND ZONES CERTAINLY HAVE SOME POTENTIAL. LITTLE WEATHER
EXPECTED FRI BUT SOME SHOWERS SAT MAINLY SOUTH OF KOTZEBUE WITH
SECOND TROUGH. NORTHWEST WINDS SHIFTING SOUTHWEST TONIGHT AND FRI
AS SURFACE TROUGH DRIFTS WEST. THEN WINDS DIMINISHING FRI EVENING.

CENTRAL/EASTERN INTERIOR...SHOWERS DIMINISHING TONIGHT FROM
SOUTHEAST. GRADUAL DRYING OVERNIGHT INTO FRIDAY. SOUTH WINDS
THROUGH ALASKA RANGE PASSES DIMINISHING SOME FRI. SHOWERS VERY
MINIMAL FRI BUT AS THERMAL TROUGH STRENGTHENS SAT EXPECT ISOLATED
PM THUNDERSTORMS.

COASTAL HAZARD POTENTIAL DAYS 3 AND 4...NONE

&&

.FIRE WEATHER...
ALASKA RANGE WINDS WITH DRIER CONDITIONS FOR FRI HAVE LED TO A
WATCH FOR ZONES 225 AND 226.

&&

.HYDROLOGY...
RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF 1.00 TO 1.50 INCHES OVER CENTRAL INTERIOR OVERNIGHT
HAVE PROMPTED FLOOD WATCHES FOR CHATANIKA...UPPER CHENA...AND SALCHA
RIVERS.

&&

.AFG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR PKZ210-PKZ220-PKZ225-PKZ230.

BRISK WIND ADVISORY FOR PKZ235-PKZ240-PKZ245.
&&

JL JUN 07

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flood, Deltana and Tanana

When: June 7, 5:00 PM AKST to June 8, 8:00 PM AKST
Where: Deltana and Tanana County, 59.12 mi NNE of Healy Lake to 11.73 mi NNE of Big Delta
Cause: Heavy Rain
Reported by: Other Federal Agency
Coordinates: 64.513, -143.669

Flood, Upr Tanana Vly Fortymile

When: June 7, 7:00 PM AKST to June 8, 8:00 PM AKST
Where: Upr Tanana Vly Fortymile County, 40.63 mi WNW of Chicken to 32.12 mi ENE of Chicken
Cause: Heavy Rain
Reported by: Other Federal Agency
Coordinates: 64.378, -143.101

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 2007 Every state in 2007 This day in weather history Warnings in Alaska, June 2007

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: 42030, 42033.