Flood, Upper Kobuk and Noatak Vlys
- When
- May 20, 1:00 AM AKST to May 21, 9:00 PM AKST
- Where
- Upper Kobuk and Noatak Vlys County, 1.08 mi SSW of Kobuk to 0.83 mi SW of Kobuk
- Cause
- Ice Jam
- Reported by
- Law Enforcement
- Coordinates
- 66.905, -156.882
Flood in Alaska, May 20 to 21, 2011
The combination of snow melt and an ice jam at the village of Kobuk along the Kobuk River produced minor to moderate flooding. Water levels rose to 5 feet above bankfull stage and there was water and ice chunks moving through the village.
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 snow melt and an ice jam at the village of Kobuk along the Kobuk River produced minor to moderate flooding. Water levels rose to 5 feet above bankfull stage and there was water and ice chunks moving through the village. Residents in low lying areas of the village were evacuated to higher ground. The flood waters affected numerous roads and buildings in low lying areas in the village. There was only one building where water entered the structure, but there were no reports of any home damage. The flooding ended during the evening of the 21st as the ice jam broke and water drained out of the village. Areas of standing water remained in the low spots around the village into the following week.
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 19, 2:02 PM AKST, 10 hours 58 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, May 19, 2:02 PM AKST, 10 hours 58 minutes before
NORTHERN ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FAIRBANKS AK 302 PM AKDT THU MAY 19 2011 .DISCUSSION... UPPER LOWS JUST SOUTH OF THE ALEUTIANS SWING EAST TO THE GULF OF ALASKA OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS. HIGH PRESSURE EXTENDING FROM BANKS ISLAND WEST TO THE NORTHERN INTERIOR WILL ALSO PERSIST. UPPER LOW WILL MOVE NORTH OF WAINWRIGHT EARLY SATURDAY MORNING WITH PERIODS OF LIGHT FREEZING RAIN FOR ZONE 201 AND FREEZING DRIZZLE FOR ZONE 202 A POSSIBILITY FRIDAY NIGHT. && .FIRE WEATHER...FOR THE INTERIOR...SOUTH WINDS WILL LOCALLY GUST TO TO 35 MPH WITH LOWEST RELATIVE HUMIDITIES NEAR 30 PERCENT THIS EVENING. HUMIDITIES WILL INCREASE OVERNIGHT BUT WILL DECREASE AGAIN FRIDAY AFTERNOON. SB/RT && .HYDROLOGY...FROM THE RIVER CENTER...THE FLOOD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL NOON AKDT FRIDAY FOR THE BUCKLAND RIVER AT BUCKLAND. WATER HAS BEGUN TO RISE AND AFFECT LOW LYING VILLAGE ROADS NEAR THE RIVER. WATER ROSE 2 FEET WEDNESDAY NIGHT. VARIATIONS OF DEPTH IN THE UPTOWN PART OF THE VILLAGE RANGE BETWEEN 1 AND 3 FEET OF WATER. WATER IS WITHIN 2 FEET OF COMING OVER THE BANK AND INTO HOMES ALONG FRONT STREET. THE ROAD TO UPTOWN AND THE AIRPORT IS UNDER WATER. DOWNRIVER AT BUCKLAND THE ICE IS STILL IN PLACE AND MORE SERIOUS FLOODING IS POSSIBLE WHEN THE ICE JAM UP RIVER RELEASES. && .AFG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... FIRE WEATHER WATCH FOR AKZ223-AKZ226. RED FLAG WARNING FOR AKZ225. FLOOD WARNING FOR AKZ210. && DA MAY 11
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
- Flooding in Montana, May 20 to 31, 2011
- Tornado and Flash Flooding in Arkansas, May 20 to 24, 2011
- Flooding and Heavy Rain in Nebraska, May 20 to 21, 2011
- Flash Flooding and Lightning Strike in Vermont, May 20, 2011
- Tornado and Hail in Texas, May 20 to 21, 2011
- Flood in Wyoming, May 20 to 23, 2011
- Flash Flooding and Flood in Texas, May 20, 2011
- Flood in South Dakota, May 20 to 31, 2011
- Tornado in Montana, May 20, 2011
- Tornado in Oklahoma, May 20, 2011
- Flash Flooding in New York, May 20, 2011
- Tornado and Flash Flood in Arkansas, May 20, 2011
More
Every storm in Alaska in 2011Every state in 2011This day in weather historyWarnings in Alaska, May 2011
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: 295275.