Flood, Deltana and Tanana
- When
- April 19, 6:00 PM AKST to April 25, 6:00 PM AKST
- Where
- Deltana and Tanana County, 5.33 mi NNW of Salcha to 5.36 mi NNW of Salcha
- Cause
- Ice Jam
- Reported by
- NWS Employee
- Coordinates
- 64.543, -147.027
Flood in Alaska, April 19 to 25, 2012
At approximately 1800 AKST on the 19th an ice jam caused the Tanana River to flow over its banks in the Boondox area and overland into the Piledriver slough. The Old Richardson Highway was flooded north of the Boondox area at times with up to 2 feet of water across the road.
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.
At approximately 1800 AKST on the 19th an ice jam caused the Tanana River to flow over its banks in the Boondox area and overland into the Piledriver slough. The Old Richardson Highway was flooded north of the Boondox area at times with up to 2 feet of water across the road.
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 Apr 19, 1:50 PM AKST, 4 hours 10 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Apr 19, 1:50 PM AKST, 4 hours 10 minutes before
NORTHERN ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FAIRBANKS AK 250 PM AKDT THU APR 19 2012 .DISCUSSION... THE WEAK RIDGE ALOFT OVER NORTHERN AK IS ADVERTISED TO CONTINUE TO WEAKEN...DESPITE THE FACT THAT ANOTHER RIDGE ALOFT...OVER THE EASTERN BERING SEA AT THIS TIME...WILL BE MOVING EASTWARD AND INTO PHASE WITH IT. THE MODELS MAY BE USING THIS WEAKENING AS THEIR EXCUSE TO COOL LOW LEVEL TEMPERATURES IN THE INTERIOR (INCLUDING THE WESTERN INTERIOR). IN ANY EVENT...THE COOLING APPEARS OVERDONE TO US. SLIGHTLY COOLER AFTERNOON TEMPERATURES DUE TO AN INCREASE IN DIURNAL CLOUD COVER IS REASONABLE THOUGH. THE RIDGE ALOFT OVER THE BERING SEA IS MOVING EAST AHEAD OF A LOW PRESENTLY SOUTH OF KAMCHATKA. THIS LOW IS EXPECTED TO MOVE RAPIDLY NORTHEAST UNTIL IT REACHES SHEMYA SATURDAY AFTERNOON...THEN DECELERATE AND MOVE EAST TO BE AROUND 984 MB JUST NORTH OF ADAK AT 4AM SUNDAY. THE LOW WILL PASS SOUTH OF SAINT PAUL ISLAND SUNDAY EVENING AND MOVING INTO THE GULF OF ALASKA MONDAY NIGHT. THE WEATHER FRONT IS EXPECTED TO SPREAD SOME SNOW INTO ZONES 213 AND 214 SUNDAY AFTERNOON AND NIGHT...POSSIBLY INTO ZONES 211... 212...AND 215. MIXED PRECIPITATION POSSIBLE IN ZONES 214 AND 215. HIGH PRESSURE WILL PERSIST OVER THE CHUKCHI SEA AND THE NORTHERN BERING SEA. A WEAK TROUGH IS LIKELY TO PERSIST OVER THE SOUTHERN BEAUFORT SEA FROM ABOUT CAPE HALKETT EAST...THOUGH THIS IS NOT A DONE DEAL. ISOLATED AND VERY MODEST (MAINLY) DIURNAL CONVECTION OVER MUCH OF THE INTERIOR THROUGH SATURDAY. SOME OF THE CONVECTIVE PARAMETERS ARE NOT TOO BAD FOR THIS TIME OF YEAR...BUT MOISTURE IS OF COURSE QUITE LIMITED. && .FIRE WEATHER... CONTINUED DRY AND WARM IN THE SOUTHEAST INTERIOR. NO ISSUES YET. && .HYDROLOGY... NO ISSUES YET. && .AFG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && DJH APR 12
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
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Oklahoma, April 19, 2012
- Wildfire in Massachusetts, April 19 to 20, 2012
- Hail and High Wind in Texas, April 19, 2012
- Hail in Texas, April 19 to 20, 2012
- Hail in Texas, April 19, 2012
- Wildfire in Georgia, April 19, 2012
- Marine Thunderstorm Wind in South Atlantic Coastal Waters, April 19, 2012
More
Every storm in Alaska in 2012Every state in 2012This day in weather historyWarnings in Alaska, April 2012
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: 366727.