A significant run of water and ice produced moderate flooding in the village of Russian Mission. By 5:30 pm on the 18th, the airport was surrounded by water and the road to the airport was becoming impassable.
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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.
The episode as NWS AFG wrote it up.
A significant run of water and ice produced moderate flooding in the village of Russian Mission. By 5:30 pm on the 18th, the airport was surrounded by water and the road to the airport was becoming impassable. By the morning of the 19th, the runway at the airport as well as the road to the airport were underwater, and several homes were surrounded by water. The water levels continued to rise, and by the morning of the 20th, the airport was under approximately 18 inches of water, and 8 homes were flooded. It was estimated that areas within approximately 400 yards of the river were flooded. By the afternoon of the 22nd, the water levels were beginning to slowly fall, but some roads continued to remain inundated and the airport remained unusable. The water levels continued to slowly drop, and fell below bank full by the evening of the 23rd. No information available on property damage, a preliminary estimate is guessed at $20,000 consisting of $2000 per home and the remainder for road repair and other property.
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 18, 4:40 AM AKST, 7 hours 20 minutes earlier.
NORTHERN ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FAIRBANKS AK 540 AM AKDT MON MAY 18 2009 .DISCUSSION... UPPER AIR: HIGH PRESSURE WITH CENTER OVER THE SOUTHEAST INTERIOR WILL MOVE NORTH TO OVER NORTHWEST YUKON TERRITORY ON WED. LOW OVER EASTERN BERING SEA WILL MOVE SOUTHEAST OF THE EASTERN ALEUTIANS ON THU. SURFACE: A 989 MB LOW NEAR WRANGEL ISLAND THIS MORNING WILL MOVE NORTH TODAY. AN ASSOCIATED WEATHER FRONT STRETCHES FROM NEAR POINT LAY TO THE LOWER YUKON VALLEY. THE FRONT WILL GRADUALLY DISSIPATE BY TONIGHT. THERMAL TROUGH WILL SET UP OVER THE SOUTHERN INTERIOR TODAY. NORTH SLOPE: PRECIPITATION WILL END FROM BARROW WEST ON TUE... THEN DRY WEATHER WILL FOLLOW THROUGH AT LEAST THE WEEKEND. WEST COAST: FRONT NORTH TO SOUTH...JUST EAST OF THE SOUNDS WILL GRADUALLY DISSIPATE BY TUE EVENING. LOW PRESSURE WILL MOVE NORTH ALONG THE FRONT TODAY TO SET OFF RAIN AND SNOW SHOWERS. STRONG WINDS FOR CAPE LISBURNE AND PASSES OF ZONE 205 WILL DIMINISH THIS MORNING. TROUGH OVER ZONE 214 AND 215 THU NIGHT WILL BRING RAIN AND SNOW SHOWERS TO THAT PART OF THE WEST COAST. OTHERWISE... MAINLY DRY WEATHER WILL PERSIST THROUGH THE WEEKEND. INTERIOR: SOME OF THE FIRST THUNDERSTORMS OF THE SEASON MAY FLARE UP OVER THE SOUTHERN INTERIOR THU AS FLOW BECOMES MORE EAST. OTHERWISE...DRY CONDITIONS WILL PERSIST. && .FIRE WEATHER...MODELS SHOW FLOW BECOMING MORE EASTERLY OVER THE SOUTHERN INTERIOR ON WED WHICH WILL PULL MORE MOISTURE INTO THE SOUTHERN INTERIOR WITH POSSIBLE THUNDERSTORMS THU AFTERNOON. && .HYDROLOGY...FLOOD WARNING FOR THE YUKON RIVER HAS BEEN EXTENDED TO INCLUDE THE AREA FROM RUSSIAN MISSION TO MARSHALL AND IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1030 PM TUESDAY. FLOOD WATCH FOR THE YUKON RIVER FROM SAINT MARYS TO MOUNTAIN VILLAGE IN IN EFFECT THROUGH WEDNESDAY EVENING. FLOOD ADVISORY FOR THE YUKON RIVER FROM GRAYLING TO ANVIK IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 630 PM TUESDAY. && .AFG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... RED FLAG WARNING FOR AKZ219-AKZ220-AKZ221-AKZ222-AKZ223-AKZ224- AKZ225-AKZ226-AKZ227. FLOOD WATCH FOR AKZ214. GALE WARNING FOR PKZ225. BRISK WIND ADVISORY FOR PKZ200-PKZ210-PKZ215-PKZ220-PKZ225- PKZ230-PKZ235. && MAY 09
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Alaska in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in Alaska, May 2009
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: 163446.