Overflow on the Tisuk River created washouts on the Nome-Teller Highway at mile 25 and 48 on or about May 20th. The Kougarok Road at mile 38 also received a washout during the same period of time.
Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
Overflow on the Tisuk River created washouts on the Nome-Teller Highway at mile 25 and 48 on or about May 20th. The Kougarok Road at mile 38 also received a washout during the same period of time. Estimated Road Damages are $8,000.
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 20, 5:05 AM AKST, 6 hours 55 minutes earlier.
NORTHERN ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FAIRBANKS AK 605 AM AKDT WED MAY 20 2009 .SYNOPSIS... A 562 DM HIGH ALOFT CENTERED OVER OLD CROW WILL BUILD WEST ACROSS NORTHERN ALASKA THROUGH THU WITH SLOWLY RISING HEIGHTS. THIS WILL PERSIST OVER THE NORTHERN HALF OF ALASKA THROUGH THE WEEKEND. THIS WILL CAUSE THE GENERALLY WARM AND DRY CONDITIONS IN THE EASTERN INTERIOR TO SPREAD WEST TO THE WESTERN INTERIOR AND WEST COAST AND NORTH SLOPE OF ALASKA BY THU. CONDITIONS WILL REMAIN GENERALLY DRY AND WARM THROUGH THE WEEKEND. A THERMAL TROUGH FROM CHICKEN TO TANANA WILL ELONGATE WEST TO CHICKEN TO AMBLER BY 4PM THU THEN PERSIST INTO THE WEEKEND. THERE WILL BE AFTERNOON AND EVENING WINDS 10 MPH GUSTING TO 20 MPH BLOWING INTO THIS TROUGH. A SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE RIDGE OVER THE ARCTIC COAST WILL PERSIST THROUGH THU AND MOVE NORTH OF THE COAST FRI. THIS WILL CAUSE AREAS OF STRATUS AND FOG TO INCREASE ALONG THE COAST. THE HIGH EXTEND SOUTH TO THE BERING STRAIT AND WILL BUILD SOUTH TO THE YUKON DELTA TONIGHT. THIS WILL CAUSE AREAS OF STRATUS AND FOG TO INCREASE ALONG THE COAST THERE AS WELL. A 1014 MB LOW JUST WEST OF DALL POINT WILL MOVE TO BRISTOL BAY AS A 1019 MB LOW WED NIGHT. THERE ISOLATED RAIN AND SNOW SHOWERS WITH THIS FEATURE. AN OLD OCCLUDED FRONT FROM MCGRATH TO DEERING WILL DISSIPATE TONIGHT. THERE WILL BE ISOLATED RAIN SHOWERS ALONG THIS. A SHORT WAVE IN THE GULF OF ALASKA WILL MOVE TO THE GULF OF ALASKA COAST ON THU AND TO THE SOUTHWEST INTERIOR THU NIGHT. THIS WILL SPREAD SOME ADDITIONAL MOISTURE INTO THE INTERIOR AHEAD OF THE TROUGH. THE LIFT PROVIDED BY THE TROUGH WILL CAUSE ISOLATED SHOWERS. A STRONGER TROUGH WILL MOVE INTO THE SOUTHERN INTERIOR FRI CAUSING H500 HEIGHTS TO FALL AND COULD CAUSE SOME ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS THEN. && .DISCUSSION... MODELS INITIALIZE WELL AND SHOW SIMILAR SOLUTIONS THROUGH FRI. && .FIRE WEATHER... VERY DRY CONDITIONS CAUSING RED FLAG WARNINGS WILL PERSIST ACROSS THE EASTERN INTERIOR AGAIN TODAY. RHS WILL INT CREASE THU EXCEPT OVER THE UPPER YUKON VALLEY. && .HYDROLOGY... YUKON RIVER...ICE JAM FLOODING IS OCCURRING AT RUSSIAN MISSION AND MARSHALL AND COULD BE OCCURRING AT PILOT STATION. ICE IS MOVING TOWARD ST MARYS. ICE FROM ST MARYS TO MOUNTAIN VILLAGE IS ROTTING AND SHIFTING. ICE DOWNSTREAM OF MOUNTAIN VILLAGE APPEARS TO BE MUCH STRONGER. AS THE BREAKUP FRONT ON THE YUKON MOVES DOWNSTREAM OF ST MARYS ...FLOOD PRONE COMMUNITIES SHOULD EXPECT MINOR FLOODING AS THE ICE PASSES AND MODERATE TO MAJOR FLOODING IF AN ICE JAM OCCURS DOWNSTREAM. WE WILL CONSIDER A FLOOD WATCH FOR THE YUKON FROM MOUNTAIN VILLAGE TO EMMONAK STARTING THU. ON THE KOBUK RIVER... OPEN WATER WAS REPORTED FROM 15 MILES DOWNSTREAM OF AMBLER UP TO SHUNGNAK. BREAKUP WAS OCURRING BETWEEN KIANA AND NORVIK ALSO. A PILOT REPORT INDICATED SOLID ICE AT THE MOUTH OF THE NOATAK AND AN ICE JAM AT THE FISH HATCHERY WITH 2 MILES OF OPEN WATER DOWNSTREAM OF THE JAM POINT. NORTH SLOPE WILL WARM THROUGH THE WEEKEND AND BREAK UP SHOULD DEVELOP THIS WEEKEND. && .AFG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... RED FLAG WARNING FOR AKZ220-AKZ221-AKZ222-AKZ223-AKZ224-AKZ225- AKZ226. FLOOD WATCH FOR AKZ214. FLOOD WARNING FOR AKZ215-214 FOR THE YUKON RIVER FROM RUSSIAN MISSION TO PILOT STATION. && JB MAY 09
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
3 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: 162679, 162680, 162681.