Flood, Middle Tanana Valley
- When
- May 4, 11:00 PM AKST to May 8, 8:00 AM AKST
- Where
- Middle Tanana Valley County, 9.72 mi SSE of Eielson Afb to 8.71 mi SSE of Eielson Afb
- Cause
- Ice Jam
- Reported by
- Emergency Manager
- Coordinates
- 64.533, -147.022
Flooding in Alaska, May 4 to 8, 2008
An ice jam formed near Piledriver Slough north of Salcha on the evening of the 4th, causing water to rise in Piledriver Slough and flood several homes. a few hours later another jam formed upstream causing water to rise in the Starkeyville subdivision.
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
- 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.
An ice jam formed near Piledriver Slough north of Salcha on the evening of the 4th, causing water to rise in Piledriver Slough and flood several homes. a few hours later another jam formed upstream causing water to rise in the Starkeyville subdivision. On the morning of May 6th, the Fairbanks North Star Borough Emergency Services and Salcha Rescue evacuated approximately 8 families (40 people) from the Starkeyville subdivision on the Tanana River about 1 mile downstream of the confluence of the Salcha River. By the morning of the 8th the ice jams had dislodged and river water started flowing again allowing river water levels to recede below bankfull. Property Damage amount is unknown as of report deadline.
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 4, 8:06 AM AKST, 14 hours 54 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, May 4, 8:06 AM AKST, 14 hours 54 minutes before
NORTHERN ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FAIRBANKS AK 206 PM ADT SUN MAY 4 2008 .DISCUSSION... UPPER AIR... MODERATE HIGH CENTERED ABOUT 400 MILES NORTH OF BARROW WILL REMAIN NEARLY STATIONARY THROUGH TUE AFTERNOON... THEN DRIFTING SLOWLY EAST AND WEAKENING. WEAK TROUGH PERSISTING OVER THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN SECTIONS OF THE INTERIOR AND WEST COAST. SURFACE... 1046 MB HIGH CENTERED ABOUT 600 MILES NORTH OF BARROW MOVING TO 500 MILES NORTH OF INUVIK BY WED AFTERNOON WEAKENING TO 1044 MB. BRISK EAST WINDS AND FLURRIES CONTINUING ALONG THE ARCTIC COAST THROUGH WED. WEAK PRESSURE GRADIENT CONTINUING OVER THE INTERIOR AND WEST COAST. CONVECTIVE POTENTIAL OVER THE SOUTH AND EAST INTERIOR GRADUALLY INCREASING THROUGH WED...WITH INCREASING VERTICAL TOTALS AND DECREASING STABILITY. && .FIRE WEATHER...NONE. && .HYDROLOGY...NONE. && .AFG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... BRISK WIND ADVISORY FOR PKZ230-PKZ235-PKZ240-PKZ245. && RF MAY 08
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
2 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Flood, Deltana and Tanana
- When
- May 5, 2:00 AM AKST to May 8, 9:00 AM AKST
- Where
- Deltana and Tanana County, 1.5 mi N of Salcha to 1.96 mi NNW of Salcha
- Cause
- Ice Jam
- Reported by
- Emergency Manager
- Coordinates
- 64.491, -146.978
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
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: 90938, 90944.