Flood, Yukon Delta
- When
- May 22, 11:00 PM AKST to May 26, 1:00 AM AKST
- Where
- Yukon Delta County, 2.2 mi S of Emmonak to 1.57 mi W of Emmonak
- Cause
- Ice Jam
- Property damage
- $902,000
- Reported by
- NWS Storm Survey
- Coordinates
- 62.748, -164.490
Flood in Alaska, May 22 to 26, 2009
A significant amount of water and ice combined with ice jams in the vicinity of the village as well as downriver produced flooding in the village of Emmonak. The flooding was compounded by 2 to 5 miles of shore-fast ice at the mouth of the Yukon River.
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
- $902,000
- 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.
A significant amount of water and ice combined with ice jams in the vicinity of the village as well as downriver produced flooding in the village of Emmonak. The flooding was compounded by 2 to 5 miles of shore-fast ice at the mouth of the Yukon River. The water levels rose during the early morning hours on the 23rd, and started to flood parts of the village as well as the road to the airport. By the afternoon of the 23rd, water inundated many of the low lying structures. The water levels continued to rise, and power was shut off to the village during the morning of the 23rd. By the evening of the 24th, there were evacuations of people living in low lying areas. Several homes along the river were flooded with 1 to 3 feet of water. The water levels began to fall later in the evening, and were back within bank full by the late evening hours of the 25th or the early morning hours on the 26th. Concerning property damage, According to the Arctic Sounder weekly newspaper, as of August 27, Emmonak filed with the State of AK and FEMA for about $410,000 in housing assistance (79 applicatnts) and $491,600 for other needs (87 applicants).
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 22, 3:50 AM AKST, 19 hours 10 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, May 22, 3:50 AM AKST, 19 hours 10 minutes before
NORTHERN ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FAIRBANKS AK 450 AM AKDT FRI MAY 22 2009 .DISCUSSION... A HIGH OVER LOW REX BLOCK WILL PERSIST THROUGH THE WEEKEND AND THEN BEGIN TO BREAK DOWN EARLY NEXT WEEK. ALOFT...A CLOSED MID/UPPER LEVEL RIDGE ACROSS NW CANADA THAT STRETCHES INTO NORTHEAST AK WILL GRADUALLY LIFT NW AND PINCH OFF... ENDING UP ACROSS THE EASTERN BEAUFORT SEA COAST BY SATURDAY AFTERNOON. THE RIDGE WILL THEN REMAIN QUASI-STATIONARY INTO SUNDAY NIGHT. AT THE SAME TIME...A CLOSED LOW NEAR 55N 150W WILL ALSO REMAIN QUASI-STATIONARY THROUGH THE WEEKEND. SURFACE...A MODERATE RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE COVERS THE ARCTIC AND WEST COASTS THIS MORNING. THE RIDGE THAT COVERS THE ARCTIC WILL GRADUALLY SLIDE OFF TOWARDS BANKS ISLAND THIS WEEKEND...WHILE THE RIDGE ALONG THE WEST COAST DROPS SOUTH TO THE SOUTHERN BERING SEA. A THERMAL THROUGH ACROSS THE CENTRAL INTERIOR WILL GRADUALLY SINK SOUTH INTO THE SOUTHERN INTERIOR BY SUNDAY. INTERIOR...THERE WERE ONLY 5 CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING STRIKES ON WEDNESDAY (WEST OF MCGRATH)...BUT YESTERDAY WAS THE FIRST DAY WITH ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS A LARGE PART OF THE CENTRAL AND WESTERN INTERIOR WITH 153 STRIKES. THE PRECIPITABLE WATER WHICH WAS SCANT EARLIER THIS WEEK IS NOW MUCH HIGHER (0.64 ON THE 12Z PAFA SOUNDING). THERE WILL BE AN AXIS OF MODERATE INSTABILITY ALONG THE THERMAL TROUGH TODAY...WITH LIFTED INDICIES NEAR OR SLIGHTLY BELOW ZERO ALONG WITH SOME MID LEVEL SHEAR. THE LI ON THE MORNING SOUNDING WAS -1.6C...WHICH WAS LOWER THAN ANY OF THE MODELS PROGGED AT 12Z. THERE WAS ALSO ABOUT 200J/KG OF CAPE. EXPECT THAT THERE WILL BE A BIT MORE COVERAGE OF THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING ACROSS THE INTERIOR...ESPECIALLY ACROSS THE HIGHER TERRAIN. THE PATTERN DOES NOT CHANGE MUCH THROUGH THE WEEKEND...WITH ISOLATED TO SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS EXPECTED DURING THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING HOURS EACH DAY AND ONLY ISOLATED SHOWERS FROM MIDNIGHT TO NOON EACH DAY. AS THE THERMAL TROUGH PUSHES A LITTLE FURTHER SOUTH ON SUNDAY THE BEST CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS WILL ALSO SHIFT A BIT FURTHER SOUTH. THE AIR MASS WILL CONTINUE TO BE UNSEASONABLY WARM ALOFT...BUT WHERE CLOUDS AND CONVECTION DEVELOP IN THE AFTERNOON IT WILL PREVENT TEMPS FROM GETTING AS WARM AS THEY WOULD OTHERWISE. NORTH SLOPE...THE AIRMASS WILL CONTINUE TO REMAIN QUITE MILD THROUGH THE WEEKEND...WITH AREAS OF MAINLY DIURNAL FOG. SOME OF THE FOG WILL BE DENSE THIS MORNING AND WILL HAVE SOME DENSE FOG HEADLINES ALONG THE BEAUFORT SEA COAST. EASTERLY FLOW WILL INCREASE THIS WEEKEND ALONG THE BEAUFORT SEA COAST AS THE SURFACE RIDGE RETREATS TO BANKS ISLAND. THIS WILL LIKELY LEAD TO SOME BRISK WINDS ALONG THE BEAUFORT SEA COAST STARTING SATURDAY. A STRONG COLD FRONT WILL BEGIN TO ORGANIZE SUNDAY IN THE WESTERN CHUKCHI SEA AND THIS FRONT WILL PUSH TO THE NW COAST SUNDAY NIGHT...AND THEN SWEEP EAST TO NEAR DEADHORSE BY MONDAY NIGHT. THIS FRONT WILL USHER A COLDER AIR BACK INTO THE AREA ALONG WITH SNOW SHOWERS AND FLURRIES. THE GFS IS FASTER AND MORE AGGRESSIVE WITH THIS FRONT THAN THE NAM OR ECMWF. WEST COAST...FAIRLY QUIET WEATHER EXPECTED FOR THE NEXT FEW DAYS. ISOLATED SHOWERS ARE EXPECTED ON THE SEWARD PENINSULA MAINLY DUE TO DAYTIME HEATING THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS. ISOLATED SHOWERS/THUNDERSTORMS MAY ALSO DEVELOP IN PARTS OF THE YUKON VALLEY IN THE EASTERLY FLOW AS MOISTURE AND WEAK DISTURBANCES ROTATE THROUGH. TEMPERATURES WILL GENERALLY BE ABOVE SEASONAL LEVELS. THE AFORE MENTIONED COLD FRONT WILL BRING SOME COOLING TO THE NW COAST STARTING MONDAY...AND WILL SPREAD SOUTH TUE-WED. MID-RANGE... THE UPPER TROUGH THAT DIGS INTO THE CHUKCHI SEA EARLY NEXT WEEK SPLITS WITH SOME OF THE ENERGY DIVING SOUTH INTO THE MEAN TROUGH IN THE GULF. MODELS AGREE THAT BY LATE IN THE WEEK THAT A RIDGE WILL REBOUND...BUT WHETHER THIS OCCURS IN THE BERING SEA OR ACROSS THE MAINLAND SEEMS TO BE A POINT OF CONTENTION. && .FIRE WEATHER... YESTERDAY WAS THE FIRST DAY WITH ISOLATED CONVECTION ACROSS MUCH OF THE CENTRAL AND WESTERN INTERIOR. AS THE THERMAL TROUGH REMAINS IN PLACE INTO THE WEEKEND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED...MAINLY FROM 3 PM TO MIDNIGHT. PRECIPITABLE H20 WILL BE IN THE 0.50-0.75 RANGE ALONG THE THERMAL TROUGH...AND STORMS THAT DEVELOP WILL LIKELY CONTAIN SOME MEASURABLE PRECIPITATION...BUT NOT NECESSARILY A WETTING RAIN AS THE CONVECTION WILL BE RELATIVELY HIGH BASED. && .HYDROLOGY... SPRING BREAKUP CONTINUES ON THE LOWER YUKON. A FLOOD WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THE YUKON RIVER FROM SAINT MARYS TO EMMONAK AND ALAKANUK. A FLOOD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON FOR THE YUKON RIVER FROM RUSSIAN MISSION TO PILOT STATION. ELSEWHERE...TEMPERATURES WILL REMAIN ABOVE AVERAGE ON THE NORTH SLOPE THROUGH THE WEEKEND...WHICH MAY CREATE SOME BREAKUP ISSUES IN THE FAR NORTH LATER THIS WEEKEND. && .AFG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... FLOOD WARNING FOR AKZ214 & AKZ215 FLOOD WATCH FOR AKZ214. && CB 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
- Flash Flood in New Mexico, May 22, 2009
- Flash Flood in Arizona, May 22, 2009
- Flood in Alaska, May 22 to 26, 2009
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Mississippi, May 22 to 24, 2009
- Tornado and Hail in Florida, May 22 to 23, 2009
- Marine Thunderstorm Winds in South Atlantic Coastal Waters, May 22, 2009
- Marine Thunderstorm Winds in Gulf of Mexico, May 22, 2009
- Tornadoes in Arizona, May 22, 2009
- Hail in Wyoming, May 22, 2009
- Flood in Alaska, May 22 to 27, 2009
- Flash Flood in Texas, May 22, 2009
- Tornado in Arizona, May 22, 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: 163456.