Flood, Lower Yukon Valley
- When
- May 16, 10:00 PM AKST to May 19, 9:00 PM AKST
- Where
- Lower Yukon Valley County, 1.26 mi NNW of Grayling to 1.19 mi WSW of Grayling
- Cause
- Ice Jam
- Reported by
- Public
- Coordinates
- 62.917, -160.084
Flood in Alaska, May 16 to 19, 2009
A large surge of water and ice moving down the Yukon River produced minor flooding at Grayling. During the early morning hours of the 17th, the water levels rose significantly and inundated the road to the airport making it accessible only by boat.
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
- 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.
A large surge of water and ice moving down the Yukon River produced minor flooding at Grayling. During the early morning hours of the 17th, the water levels rose significantly and inundated the road to the airport making it accessible only by boat. The water levels dropped during the early morning hours of the 19th. No homes were flooded in the village of Grayling. Estimated property damage $0.
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 16, 2:31 PM AKST, 7 hours 29 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, May 16, 2:31 PM AKST, 7 hours 29 minutes before
NORTHERN ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FAIRBANKS AK 331 PM AKDT SAT MAY 16 2009 .DISCUSSION... PATTERN CHANGE WELL UNDERWAY NOW AS RIDGE BUILDS EAST FROM BERING SEA AND TROUGH DIGS INTO THE EASTERN BERING. MODELS AGREE ON BUILDING HIGH INTO NE ALASKA BY TUE MORNING WITH DEEP TROUGH...PROBABLY WITH A CLOSED CENTER...OVER THE EASTERN BERING SEA. BY WED PM MUCH OF THE ENERGY FROM THE TROUGH HAS MOVED INTO A CLOSED LOW IN THE GULF OF ALASKA WITH RAPIDLY RISING HEIGHTS OVER THE BERING. AT THE SURFACE...996 MB LOW OVER WESTERN CHUKOTKA WITH FRONT SE INTO THE THE NORTHWEST BERING..WITH 996 LOW ON THE FRONT S OF CAPE NAVARIN WILL PLOW NORTH AND BECOME THE MAIN CENTER BY SUN AFTERNOON S OF WRANGEL ISLAND. ASSOCIATED FRONT MOVING ACROSS THE NE BERING SEA TONIGHT AND THEN THROUGH NORTON SOUND AND CHUKCHI SEA COAST ABOUT AS FAR EAST AS BARROW BY MON MORNING. HIGH PRESSURE OVER THE EASTERN BEAUFORT SEA COAST DRIFTING EAST WITH REMNANT HIGH PERSISTING OVER THE EASTERN BROOKS RANGE. BY TUE PM WELL DEVELOPED THERMAL TROUGH WILL BE IN PLACE OVER THE SOUTHERN INTERIOR. NORTH SLOPE...PRECIP FROM INCOMING FRONT LIKELY TO BE LARGELY WRUNG OUT BY THE BROOKS RANGE. AIRMASS LIKELY WARM ENOUGH ON THE FRONT END FOR RAIN OR MIXED PRECIP. NO PRECIP EXPECTED EAST OF 155W. BY MID-WEEK BUILDING RIDGE WILL RESTART BREAK-UP ON NORTH SLOPE RIVERS. WEST COAST...DAMP NEXT COUPLE DAYS IN ONSHORE FLOW AREA. AMS SHOULD BE...JUST BARELY...WARM ENOUGH FOR RAIN AT LOW ELEVATIONS AHEAD OF THE OCCLUSION. DOWNSLOPE AREAS WILL PROBABLY NOT GET MUCH PRECIP. WARMING AND DRYING LOOKS LIKELY BY MID WEEK AS RIDGE BUILDS. INTERIOR...DRY AND INCREASINGLY WARM. NO SGFNT CONVECTION BEFORE THU AT THE EARLIEST. && .FIRE WEATHER... PERSISTENT DRY WEATHER LAST SIX WEEKS...EVEN MORE SO THAN USUAL FOR THE SEASON AND DRY AMS IN PLACE HAVE PRODUCED MARGINAL RED FLAG CONDITIONS TODAY OVER A LARGE PORTION OF EASTERN AND SOUTHERN INTERIOR. WITH THE RIDGE BUILDING AND AMS WARMING...THIS WILL LIKELY GO ON FOR SOME TIME TO COME. && .HYDROLOGY... FLOOD WATCH CONTINUES FOR YUKON RIVER KOYUKUK TO HOLY CROSS AND FLOOD ADVISORY FOR NULATO. NOT MUCH CHANGE REPORTED ON THE RIVER PAST 18 HOURS. && .AFG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... FIRE WEATHER WATCH FOR AKZ223-AKZ226. RED FLAG WARNING FOR AKZ220-AKZ221-AKZ222-AKZ224-AKZ225-AKZ227. FLOOD WATCH FOR AKZ215-AKZ216. GALE WARNING FOR PKZ210-PKZ220-PKZ225. BRISK WIND ADVISORY FOR PKZ200-PKZ210-PKZ215-PKZ225-PKZ230. && RT MAY 09
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
- Flooding in Illinois, May 16 to 21, 2009
- Flash Flooding and Hail in Mississippi, May 16, 2009
- Tornadoes and Hail in New York, May 16, 2009
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Tennessee, May 16, 2009
- Damaging Wind in Louisiana, May 16, 2009
- Damaging Winds in Kentucky, May 16, 2009
- Damaging Winds in Pennsylvania, May 16, 2009
- Damaging Winds in New York, May 16, 2009
- Flash Flooding and Hail in North Carolina, May 16, 2009
- Flash Flood in Alabama, May 16, 2009
- Flash Flooding in North Carolina, May 16 to 17, 2009
- Flash Flooding in Virginia, May 16 to 17, 2009
More
Every storm in Alaska in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in Alaska, May 2009
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: 163414.