Flood, Upper Kobuk and Noatak Vlys
- When
- May 13, 11:00 AM AKST to 7:00 PM AKST
- Where
- Upper Kobuk and Noatak Vlys County, 1.16 mi WSW of Kobuk to 1.03 mi WSW of Kobuk
- Cause
- Ice Jam
- Property damage
- $5,000
- Reported by
- Public
- Coordinates
- 66.911, -156.906
Flood in Alaska, May 13, 2008
then moving up to affect the most of the structures and airport through the afternoon of the 13th. On the night of the 13th the ice jam went out and water levels decreased rapidly with most streets dry by the morning of the 14th.
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
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $5,000
- 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 AFG wrote it up.
On the 12th, an ice jam formed downstream of the village of Kobuk, just upstream of Shungnak, and the river began rising overnight, moving into creeks and lakes around the village on the morning of the 13th, and inundating the lower parts of the village..then moving up to affect the most of the structures and airport through the afternoon of the 13th. On the night of the 13th the ice jam went out and water levels decreased rapidly with most streets dry by the morning of the 14th. Damage occurred to the main road through the portion of town that was flooded. No homes were damage. Property Damage amount is estimated at $5000 for road repair.
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, 8:26 AM AKST, 2 hours 34 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, May 13, 8:26 AM AKST, 2 hours 34 minutes before
NORTHERN ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FAIRBANKS AK 226 PM ADT TUE MAY 13 2008 .DISCUSSION... ALOFT...LONG WAVE TROUGH OVER ALASKA THROUGH THURSDAY WILL RETREAT WEST A LITTLE AS RIDGE BUILDS OVER EASTERN ALASKA DURING WEEKEND. SHORT WAVE TROUGH FROM BETHEL TO DELTA JUNCTION SPLITTING WITH EAST HALF MOVING NORTH TO KAKTOVIK 00Z THU...AND PORTION NEAR BETHEL ROTATING WEST OVER NORTON SOUND TO WEST OF SAINT LAWRENCE ISLAND 00Z THU. LOW MOVING NORTH IN GULF OF ALASKA WED TO KENAI PENINSULA THU AM. SURFACE...RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE OVER BEAUFORT SEA DRIFTING EAST. LOW OVER SOUTHERN BERING SEA WEAKENING THROUGH THU. OCCLUSION FROM GAMBELL TO NEAR FORT YUKON DRIFTING NORTH TO EASTERN BROOKS RANGE BY 12Z WED WHILE REMAINING STATIONARY OVER THE NORTHERN SEWARD PENINSULA...EASTERN PORTION OF OCCLUSION THEN MOVING NORTH OVER ZONES 203 AND 204 WED AND WED NIGHT DISSIPATING 12Z THU. NEW OCCLUSION FROM GULF OF ALASKA MOVING NORTH TO PAXSON TO NORTHWAY 00Z THU THEN TO WESTERN ALASKA RANGE TO FORT YUKON IN INUVIK IN CANADA 12Z THU. MODELS...SIMILAR IN INITIALIZATION BUT PREFER GFS AGAIN AS IT IS FASTER IN MOVING LOW IN GULF OF ALASKA. NORTH SLOPE...SNOW SHOWERS OVER EASTERN ZONES TONIGHT AND WED THEN DIMINISHING THEREAFTER AS OCCLUSION DISSIPATES. FLURRIES PERSISTING WEST BUT WINDS DIMINISHING SOME AS WEAKENING OCCLUSION MOVES OVER BROOKS RANGE. WESTERN ALASKA...SCATTERED SHOWERS TONIGHT WITH WEAKENING OCCLUSION THEN ISOLATED SHOWERS NORTHERN ZONES WED. WINDS OVER OUTER WATERS DIMINISHING OVERNIGHT AS OCCLUSION AND LOW IN SOUTHERN BERING SEA WEAKEN. CENTRAL/EASTERN INTERIOR... STRONG RIDGING SOUTH OF ALASKA RANGE WILL WEAKEN OVERNIGHT SO WINDS WILL CONTINUE TO DIMINISH. BEHIND OCCLUSION RELATIVELY UNSTABLE AIR WILL PRODUCE ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS ZONES 224 222 221 AND 220. SCATTERED SHOWERS PREFERRED FOR ZONES 218 219 AND NORTHERN 220 TONIGHT WITH/AHEAD OF OCCLUSION. SCATTERED TO ISOLATED SHOWERS WITH INCOMING NEW OCCLUSION WED INTO THU. && .FIRE WEATHER... RED FLAG CONDITIONS ZONES 223 225 226 CONTINUING INTO THIS EVENING UNTIL WINDS DECREASE THROUGH AND NEAR ALASKA RANGE. && .HYDROLOGY... NONE OTHER THAN CURRENT ICE JAM WARNINGS. UPPER LEVEL FLOW PATTERN WILL MAINTAIN NORMAL TEMPS ACROSS REGION...SOME WARMING TOWARD WEEKEND OVER EASTERN INTERIOR AS HIGH BUILDS SOME. && .AFG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... FLOOD WARNING FOR AKZ210-AKZ217. FIRE WEATHER WATCH FOR AKZ224. RED FLAG WARNING FOR AKZ223-AKZ225-AKZ226. HEAVY FREEZING SPRAY WARNING FOR PKZ225-PKZ230. BRISK WIND ADVISORY FOR PKZ210-PKZ220-PKZ225-PKZ230. && JL MAY 08
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
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
- Tornado and Flash Flooding in Texas, May 13 to 14, 2008
- Flash Flooding and Hail in Louisiana, May 13 to 14, 2008
- Tornadoes and Hail in Texas, May 13 to 14, 2008
- Hail in Missouri, May 13, 2008
- Flooding in Indiana, May 13 to 24, 2008
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Illinois, May 13, 2008
- High Wind in Arizona, May 13, 2008
- Hail in Oklahoma, May 13, 2008
- Hail and Lightning Strike in Arkansas, May 13, 2008
- High Wind and Strong Wind in Illinois, May 13, 2008
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Texas, May 13, 2008
- Hail in Illinois, May 13, 2008
More
Every storm in Alaska in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyWarnings in Alaska, May 2008
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: 90968.