Flood, Nrn & Intr. Seward Peninsula
- When
- May 23, 4:00 PM AKST to May 26, 9:00 AM AKST
- Where
- Nrn & Intr. Seward Peninsula County, Buckland to 0.77 mi NE of Buckland
- Cause
- Ice Jam
- Reported by
- Fire Department/Rescue
- Coordinates
- 65.980, -161.150
Flood in Alaska, May 23 to 26, 2012
Minor ice jams formed around the village of Buckland on May 21st, and the water levels on the Buckland River at Buckland began to rise on the 22nd into the 23rd. There was also a considerable amount of higher elevation snow melt that moved into smaller tributaries of the River due to warm temperatures.
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.
Minor ice jams formed around the village of Buckland on May 21st, and the water levels on the Buckland River at Buckland began to rise on the 22nd into the 23rd. There was also a considerable amount of higher elevation snow melt that moved into smaller tributaries of the River due to warm temperatures. Flooding began in the village of Buckland on the afternoon of the 23rd and continued into the morning of the 26th. Approximately 70 percent of the homes in the village had water underneath them, but the water did not enter the first floor of any structures. Residents of the village needed to use a canoe to go through town and to access the airport. The water levels dropped significantly during the morning of the 26th as an ice jam that was just downriver of the village released.
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 23, 12:09 PM AKST, 3 hours 51 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, May 23, 12:09 PM AKST, 3 hours 51 minutes before
NORTHERN ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FAIRBANKS AK 109 PM AKDT WED MAY 23 2012 .DISCUSSION...MODELS SIMILAR THROUGH 60 HOURS. UPPER LEVEL RIDGE WILL PERSIST OVER EASTERN INTERIOR THROUGH THU WHILE AN UPPER LEVEL TROUGH BEGINS TO TAKE OVER THE WESTERN PORTION OF THE STATE. THE UPPER LEVEL TROUGH DIGS IN AND MOVES EASTWARD TO THE CENTRAL PORTION OF THE STATE BY FRI NIGHT AND WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE WEEKEND. LARGE BUILDING UPPER LEVEL RIDGE IN WESTERN CANADA WILL CONTINUE TO SLOWLY EXPAND WESTWARD. THIS WILL BEGIN TO EXPAND INTO EASTERN ALASKA BY MON WITH LARGE WARM BALL OF AIR MOVING INTO EASTERN THIRD OF STATE. THE ECMWF IS MUCH WARMER THAN THE GFS WITH THIS EVENT. ANOTHER UPPER LEVEL LOW WILL MOVE INTO THE GULF OF ALASKA WITH A NORTH TO SOUTH ORIENTED TROUGH ON THE WEST SIDE OF THE UPPER LEVEL RIDGE. THIS WILL MOVE WESTWARD AND PROVIDE ENOUGH DYNAMICS TO PRODUCE SHOWERS AS IT MOVES WESTWARD THROUGH THE FIRST PART OF NEXT WEEK. THE THETA E RIDGE THROUGH THE INTERIOR OF THE STATE WILL GRADUALLY RETROGRADE BACK EASTWARD OVER THE NEXT 24 HOURS. DENSE FOG WILL CONTINUE TO PLAGUE THE ARCTIC COAST AND PORTIONS OF THE WEST COAST THROUGH AT LEAST THU MORNING. && .FIRE WEATHER...CONDITIONS REMAIN DRY NORTH OF THE THERMAL TROUGH. THEREFORE ZONE 220 REMAINS IN A RED FLAG WARNING STATUS. && .HYDROLOGY...A FLOOD WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THE BUCKLAND RIVER AT BUCKLAND FOR AN ICE JAM. SNOW MELT AND SOLID ICE PACK IN THE RIVER ARE CONTRIBUTING TO THIS POSSIBLE EVENT. && .AFG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... RED FLAG WARNING FOR AKZ220. FLOOD WATCH FOR AKZ210. && CF MAY 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
- Wildfire in Texas, May 23, 2012
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Nebraska, May 23, 2012
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Minnesota, May 23, 2012
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Iowa, May 23, 2012
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Kansas, May 23, 2012
- Flash Flood and Lightning Strike in Minnesota, May 23 to 24, 2012
- Hail and Lightning Strike in Colorado, May 23, 2012
- Flash Flood and Hail in North Carolina, May 23, 2012
- Tornado and Damaging Wind in Louisiana, May 23, 2012
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Nebraska, May 23, 2012
- Hail in Minnesota, May 23, 2012
- Hail in South Carolina, May 23, 2012
More
Every storm in Alaska in 2012Every state in 2012This day in weather historyWarnings in Alaska, May 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: 374270.