Flood, Upper Kobuk and Noatak Vlys
- When
- May 5, 10:00 AM AKST to May 6, 1:00 PM AKST
- Where
- Upper Kobuk and Noatak Vlys County, 1 mi SSW of Kobuk to 1.2 mi SSW of Kobuk
- Cause
- Ice Jam
- Reported by
- COOP Observer
- Coordinates
- 66.907, -156.885
Flood in Alaska, May 5 to 6, 2009
An ice jam downriver of Kobuk led to minor flooding when the water went over the bank in the lower part of town. The water did not make it over the road, and did not cause flooding to any structures in town.
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.
An ice jam downriver of Kobuk led to minor flooding when the water went over the bank in the lower part of town. The water did not make it over the road, and did not cause flooding to any structures in town. Estimated property damage is $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 5, 3:52 AM AKST, 6 hours 8 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, May 5, 3:52 AM AKST, 6 hours 8 minutes before
NORTHERN ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION...CORRECTED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FAIRBANKS AK 452 AM AKDT TUE MAY 5 2009 CORRECTED TEXT .DISCUSSION... NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES BETWEEN SHORT TERM MODEL RUNS THROUGH 00Z FRI. WEAK SHORT WAVE ALOFT WITH AXIS FROM THE BARROW AREA TO NORTON SOUND WILL MOVE SLOWLY EASTWARD AND GRADUALLY DEEPEN THROUGH 00Z THU... EXTENDING FROM PRUDHOE BAY SOUTHWARD WITH A CLOSED LOW CENTER FORMING SOUTHWEST OF KODIAK ISLAND. HIGH PRESSURE RIDGING ALOFT OVER THE WESTERN BERING WILL BUILD A LITTLE AS IT MOVES TO THE EASTERN BERING BY 00Z THU. AT THE SURFACE...WEAK LOW PRESSURE WILL PERSIST OVER THE EXTREME SOUTHEAST PARTS OF THE MAINLAND THROUGH 00Z THU...WHILE WEAK HIGH PRESSURE RIDGING MOVES EASTWARD INTO THE EASTERN BERING SEA. THE DEEPENING SHORT WAVE GRADUALLY MOVING EAST...AND THE LOW PRESSURE OVER THE SOUTHEAST INTERIOR WILL PROVIDE THE FOCUS FOR SCATTERED SHOWER ACTIVITY OVER THE INTERIOR...BROOKS RANGE...AND PARTS OF THE ARCTIC COAST TODAY AND TONIGHT. SCATTERED SHOWER ACTIVITY IS LIKELY TO PERSIST OVER THE EASTERN HALF OF THE FORECAST AREA WED. WINDS IN MARINE FORECAST AREA EXPECTED TO REMAIN BELOW ADVISORY LEVEL THROUGH WED. BRISK SOUTH OR SOUTHWEST WINDS MAY OCCUR WED NIGHT IN MARINE AREAS 225-230 AS A LOW CENTER MOVES NORTHEASTWARD OUT OF EASTERN RUSSIA... REACHING THE WRANGEL ISLAND AREA BY 06Z WED. && .FIRE WEATHER... NONE. MIN RH EXPECTED TO BE ABOVE 40% IN ALL AREAS. && .HYDROLOGY... FLOOD WARNING CONTINUES IN EFFECT FOR THE YUKON RIVER FROM EAGLE TO CIRCLE. MAJOR ICE JAM FLOODING IS EXPECTED ALONG THE YUKON RIVER FROM CIRCLE UPSTREAM. EAGLE REPORTS THE WORST FLOOD OF RECORD WHICH HAS INUNDATED MUCH OF THE TOWN. AS OF LATE MON EVENING...ICE WAS REPORTED TO BE RAPIDLY FLOWING IN A PORTION OF THE RIVER WITH A RAPID DROP OF 7 FEET AT EAGLE. 12 MILES DOWNSTREAM...WATER WAS REPORTED TO BE RISING FAST. HIGH WATER STILL REMAINS AT EAGLE...WHERE ICE CHUNKS THE SIZE OF HOUSES WERE REPORTED IN PARKING AREAS ADJACENT TO FRONT STREET. FLOOD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THE YUKON RIVER FROM EAGLE TO CIRCLE. FLOOD WATCH CONTINUES IN EFFECT FOR THE YUKON RIVER FROM CIRCLE TO THE YUKON RIVER BRIDGE. FLOOD ADVISORY CONTINUES IN EFFECT FOR SNOWMELT FLOODING ON THE CHENA RIVER IN NORTH POLE. FLOOD ADVISORY CONTINUES IN EFFECT FOR MELTING SNOW ALONG THE NOME RIVER NORTH OF NOME. && .AFG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... FLOOD WATCH FOR AKZ220-AKZ222-AKZ224. && RF 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
- Wildfire in California, May 5 to 20, 2009
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Arkansas, May 5 to 7, 2009
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in North Carolina, May 5, 2009
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Mississippi, May 5 to 6, 2009
- Heavy Rain in California, May 5, 2009
- Tornado and Flash Flooding in Mississippi, May 5 to 6, 2009
- Wildfire in Arizona, May 5 to 7, 2009
- Flooding in Kentucky, May 5 to 26, 2009
- Hail in Texas, May 5, 2009
- Flash Flood and Flood in North Carolina, May 5, 2009
- Hail and Lightning Strike in South Carolina, May 5, 2009
- Flash Flood and Damaging Wind in Florida, May 5, 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: 163515.