Flood, Yukon Delta
- When
- May 25, 12:00 PM AKST to May 26, 3:00 AM AKST
- Where
- Yukon Delta County, 0.42 mi N of Kotlik to 0.39 mi ENE of Kotlik
- Cause
- Ice Jam
- Reported by
- NWS Storm Survey
- Coordinates
- 63.036, -163.568
Flood in Alaska, May 25 to 26, 2009
The combination of a significant amount of water and ice flowing down the Yukon river along with ice jams near Kotlik and shore-fast ice at the mouth of the Yukon River produced minor flood in Kotlik during the afternoon hours of the 25th through the early morning hours of the 26th. Water came over some roads on the north side of the village near the new airport, but the roads were still…
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.
The combination of a significant amount of water and ice flowing down the Yukon river along with ice jams near Kotlik and shore-fast ice at the mouth of the Yukon River produced minor flood in Kotlik during the afternoon hours of the 25th through the early morning hours of the 26th. Water came over some roads on the north side of the village near the new airport, but the roads were still passable and no homes were flooded. No information available on property damage, a preliminary estimate is guessed at $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 25, 3:36 AM AKST, 8 hours 24 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, May 25, 3:36 AM AKST, 8 hours 24 minutes before
NORTHERN ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FAIRBANKS AK 436 AM AKDT MON MAY 25 2009 .DISCUSSION... THE WEATHER PATTERN WILL UNDERGO CHANGES EARLY THIS WEEK...AND THE MODELS REMAIN IN DECENT AGREEMENT IN THE SHORT TERM. ALOFT...THE RIDGE THAT IS CURRENTLY ACROSS THE NORTHEAST BROOKS RANGE WILL GRADUALLY BREAK DOWN AND GET SHUNTED TO THE SOUTH EARLY THIS WEEK BY A DEVELOPING TROUGH ALONG THE WEST COAST. ANOTHER CLOSED MID/UPPER LEVEL RIDGE CURRENTLY IN THE NORTHERN BERING SEA WILL ALSO GET SQUASHED IN THE PROCESS...BUT WILL REBUILD TO THE NORTH OF KAMCHATKA BY TUES NIGHT. AN UPPER LOW NEAR 80N 160E LIFTS TO THE NORTHEAST AND AS THE ENERGY SPLITS A TROUGH WILL GRADUALLY AMPLIFY ALONG THE WEST COAST TUE AND WED. SURFACE...1030 MB HIGH CENTERED JUST SOUTH OF BANKS ISLAND EARLY THIS MORNING WILL SLOWLY SLIDE SOUTHEAST ACROSS NORTHERN CANADA THROUGH TUESDAY. A 1008 MB LOW IN THE GULF OF ALASKA WILL CONTINUE TO SIT AND SPIN THROUGH TUESDAY. A 1030 MB HIGH IN THE CENTRAL BERING SEA WILL REMAIN IN TACT THROUGH TONIGHT AND SLOWLY DRIFT SOUTH OF THE ALEUTIANS TUESDAY. A 995 MB LOW NEAR 82N 165E WILL LIFT TO THE NORTHEAST TO THE OTHER SIDE OF THE POLE BY TUESDAY. INTERIOR...THE THERMAL TROUGH CONTINUED TO PROVIDE THE FOCUS FOR CONVECTION AND FIRE STARTS ACROSS THE INTERIOR YESTERDAY. THERE WERE APPROXIMATELY 700 CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING STRIKES YESTERDAY...MAINLY WEST OF THE PARKS HIGHWAY IN ZONE 225 WEST/SOUTHWEST TO MCGRATH...AND IN ZONE 216 TO THE SOUTH OF GALENA. THE THERMAL TROUGH GETS NUDGED JUST A BIT FURTHER SOUTH TODAY...WITH THE BEST CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS THE ALASKA RANGE TO MCGRATH. THE AIR LOOKS TOO DRY AND STABLE FOR ANY THUNDERSTORMS TO THE NORTH OF A LINE FROM ABOUT FAIRBANKS TO GALENA. THE DEW POINT AT FAIRBANKS HAS DROPPED ABOUT 10F OVERNIGHT...AND THE MORNING SOUNDING IS DRIER AND MORE STABLE THAN 24 HOURS AGO. THE AIRMASS CONTINUES TO BE QUITE WARM WITH AN 850MB TEMP OF +10C. YESTERDAY WAS THE FIRST 80 DEGREE DAY AT THE FAIRBANKS INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT...NEARLY A MONTH EARLIER THAN LAST YEAR. THERE WILL NOT BE ANY PROBLEM REACHING THE CONVECTIVE TEMPS TODAY...BUT AGAIN IT LOOKS TOO DRY AND STABLE FOR THUNDERSTORMS FROM ABOUT FAIRBANKS NORTH. THE THERMAL TROUGH STRENGTHENS A BIT ON TUESDAY AHEAD OF A STRONG COLD FRONT THAT WILL STILL BE WELL NORTH OF THE INTERIOR...BUT IT WILL PROBABLY BE TOO STABLE WITHOUT ENOUGH MOISTURE NORTH OF THE ALASKA RANGE FOR CONVECTION. AS THE UPPER FLOW TURNS INTO THE SOUTH TUESDAY NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY THERE WILL LIKELY BE ENOUGH SUPPORT FOR SOME STRONGER WIND IN THE AK RANGE PASSES. NORTH SLOPE...THE WARM AIRMASS THAT PRODUCED 850 MB TEMPS OF +6C YESTERDAY ALL THE WAY NORTH TO BARROW WILL BE COMING TO AN ABRUPT END AS A STRONG COLD FRONT ORGANIZES ACROSS THE CHUKCHI SEA EARLY THIS MORNING. THE FRONT WILL PUSH TO ABOUT BARROW AND KIVALINA BY THIS AFTERNOON AND WILL CONTINUE TO SLIDE SOUTH AND EAST THROUGH TUESDAY. THIS WILL BRING MUCH COLDER AIR BACK TO THE BROOKS RANGE AND COASTAL PLAIN ALONG WITH SOME SNOW SHOWERS. AREAS OF DENSE FOG THIS MORNING ALONG THE BEAUFORT SEA COAST. WEST COAST...SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING SOUTH OF GALENA ALONG THE THERMAL TROUGH. MAINLY DRY ALONG THE COAST WITH SOME AREAS OF LOW CLOUDS/FOG. AREAS OF DENSE FOG THIS MORNING IN THE Y-K DELTA AS WELL AS ON SAINT LAWRENCE ISLAND AND ALONG THE BERING STRAIT COAST. A COLD FRONT ORGANIZING ACROSS THE CHUKCHI SEA WILL APPROACH THE BERING STRAIT THIS AFTERNOON...AND THE NORTON SOUND BY LATE TONIGHT. A MUCH COLDER AIR MASS WILL BE USHERED IN BEHIND THIS FRONT WITH A FEW SNOW SHOWERS ALONG THE NORTHWEST COAST BY TONIGHT. && .FIRE WEATHER... WARM AND DRY ACROSS MUCH OF THE INTERIOR TODAY WITH RELATIVE HUMIDITIES BELOW 20 PCT IN MANY AREAS...AND PERHAPS AS LOW AS 15 PCT IN SOME SPOTS. THE BEST CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON WILL BE ACROSS THE ALASKA RANGE WEST TO MCGRATH. ERRATIC WIND GUSTS TO 40 MPH ARE POSSIBLE IN/NEAR ANY THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. THE WIND WILL BE RELATIVELY LIGHT ASIDE FOR AREAS IN/NEAR CONVECTION...BUT THE RHS WILL LIKELY BE LOW ENOUGH TO REQUIRE SOME HEADLINES TODAY INTO THIS EVENING. && .HYDROLOGY... A FLOOD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM AKDT TODAY FOR THE YUKON RIVER DELTA. A FLOOD ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THE COLVILLE RIVER AT COLVILLE UNTIL 6 PM AKDT TODAY. PLEASE REFER TO THE SPECIFIC WARNING AND ADVISORY PRODUCTS FOR MORE DETAILS. && .AFG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... FLOOD WARNING FOR AKZ214 FLOOD ADVISORY FOR AKZ203. && 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 West Virginia, May 25, 2009
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Georgia, May 25, 2009
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Florida, May 25, 2009
- Flash Flooding in South Carolina, May 25, 2009
- Flash Flood and Hail in Colorado, May 25, 2009
- Flooding in Minnesota, May 25 to 28, 2009
- Funnel Clouds and Heavy Rain in Nebraska, May 25, 2009
- Hail in Texas, May 25, 2009
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Texas, May 25 to 26, 2009
- Flash Flooding in Illinois, May 25, 2009
- Hail in Texas, May 25, 2009
- Hail in Texas, May 25, 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: 163459.