Flood, Upr Tanana Vly Fortymile
- When
- May 17, 2:00 AM AKST to 12:00 PM AKST
- Where
- Upr Tanana Vly Fortymile County, 1 mi E of Eagle to 1.7 mi W of Eagle
- Cause
- Ice Jam
- Property damage
- $500,000
- Reported by
- NWS Employee
- Coordinates
- 64.780, -141.116
Flood in Alaska, May 17, 2013
An ice jam formed downstream of Eagle on the 17th causing water levels to rise rapidly. not approaching the levels of 2009.
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
- $500,000
- 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 formed downstream of Eagle on the 17th causing water levels to rise rapidly. Flooding was the second worst on record...not approaching the levels of 2009. Several structures along Front Street sustained major damage, as well as some homes several miles upstream of Eagle. The road to Eagle Village was covered with large ice pans and ice chunks for a considerable distance. The old Eagle Village site was covered with both ice and water, though residents had moved away from that site following the 2009 flood. Damage amounts estimated major damage to homes as well as Emergency Response costs and road repair work.
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 16, 4:15 PM AKST, 9 hours 45 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, May 16, 4:15 PM AKST, 9 hours 45 minutes before
NORTHERN ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FAIRBANKS AK 515 PM AKDT THU MAY 16 2013 .SYNOPSIS... THE LONG WAVE TROUGH OVER THE EASTERN BERING SEA AND MAINLAND ALASKA WILL MOVE EAST OVER MAINLAND ALASKA BY SAT. THIS IS CAUSING SOUTHERLY CHINOOK WINDS OVER THE EASTERN ALASKA RANGE AND EASTERN BROOKS NOW THAT WILL DIMINISH FRIDAY. A STRONG SHORT WAVE ALONG THE WEST COAST OF ALASKA WILL MOVE OVER THE WESTERN ARCTIC AND INTERIOR OF ALASKA FRI AND OVER THE EASTERN ARCTIC AND INTERIOR SAT. THIS IS PUSHING A STRONG COLD FRONT EAST ACROSS THE STATE. THERE IS MOIST SOUTHEAST FLOW OVER THE EASTERN INTERIOR AHEAD OF THE TROUGH THAT WILL CAUSE SIGNIFICANT SNOWFALL WHEN THE COLD FRONT MOVES EAST AND THE MOISTURE OVER RUNS IT. 850 MB...TEMPERATURES ARE IN THE 0C TO -6C RANGE OVER THE CENTRAL AND EASTERN INTERIOR TODAY DROPPING TO -18C ALONG THE WEST COAST BEHIND THE COLD FRONT. THIS VERY COLD AIR WILL MOVE EAST OVER THE INTERIOR BEHIND THE COLD FRONT AND MODERATE 2-4C...BUT STILL EXPECT -14C OVER FAIRBANKS SAT WHICH WILL BE THE COLDEST 850 MB TEMPERATURES THIS LATE IN THE SPRING. SURFACE... A 988 MB LOW NEAR POINT LAY WILL MOVE TO 200 NM NORTHWEST OF POINT LAY BY 4AM FRI AND THEN CONTINUE MOVING NW. A STRONG COLD FRONT STRETCHING FROM POINT LAY TO MCGRATH WILL MOVE TO NUIQSUT TO DENALI BY 4AM FRI...TO PRUDHOE BAY TO FORT YUKON TO DELTA JUNCTION BY 4PM FRI...TO BARTER ISLAND TO FORT YUKON TO NORTHWAY BY 4AM SAT AND THEN EAST OF THE ALCAN BORDER SAT PM. SCATTERED RAIN AND SNOW SHOWERS EXIST JUST EAST OF THE FRONT. SNOW...WINDS AND RECORD COLD TEMPERATURES WILL ACCOMPANY THE COLD FRONT. AFTERNOON TEMPERATURES ARE ONLY IN THE TEENS ALONG THE WEST COAST OF ALASKA BEHIND THE COLD FRONT TODAY. AS THE FRONT MOVES INTO THE EASTERN INTERIOR WHERE THERE IS MORE MOISTURE OVERRUNNING IT WILL SEE HEAVY SNOW IN HIGHER TERRAIN. HEAVY SNOW WILL FALL OVER THE ALASKA RANGE AND THE BROOKS RANGE TONIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY WITH STORM TOTAL SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF 6 TO 12 INCHES. THE HILLS OF THE INTERIOR ABOVE 1500 FEET WILL HAVE 4 TO 6 INCHES OF SNOW FROM FRIDAY THROUGH SATURDAY. THERE WILL ALSO BE BLOWING SNOW OVER HILLS AND IN PASSES. TRAVEL WILL BE DIFFICULT IN THOSE AREAS. && .DISCUSSION... MODELS SHOW SIMILAR SOLLUTIONS IN MOST FIELDS. && .FIRE WEATHER... STRONG S WINDS THIS EVENING ALONG THE ALASKA RANGE AT DELTA. && .HYDROLOGY... ICE JAM ON TANANA RIVER NEAR SALCHA CAUSING SOME FLOODING IN THE BOONDOX AREA. COLDER TEMPERATURES SHOULD SLOW BREAK UP EVEN MORE MOST AREAS. && .AFG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WINTER STORM WARNING FOR AKZ218-AKZ225-AKZ226. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR AKZ207-AKZ208-AKZ209-AKZ219-AKZ220- AKZ221-AKZ222-AKZ223-AKZ224. BRISK WIND ADVISORY FOR PKZ200-PKZ210-PKZ215-PKZ220-PKZ225- PKZ230. && JB MAY 13
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
- Excessive Heat in Texas, May 17, 2013
- Tornadoes and Hail in Texas, May 17, 2013
- Hail and Damaging Wind in South Dakota, May 17, 2013
- Flash Flooding and Flood in Alabama, May 17 to 18, 2013
- Hail in Wyoming, May 17, 2013
- Tornadoes in Alabama, May 17, 2013
- Lightning Strike in Louisiana, May 17, 2013
- Flash Flood and Hail in Wyoming, May 17, 2013
- Flash Flood and Hail in Iowa, May 17, 2013
- Tornadoes and Hail in Minnesota, May 17, 2013
- Flash Flood and Hail in Mississippi, May 17 to 18, 2013
- Hail in Nebraska, May 17 to 18, 2013
More
Every storm in Alaska in 2013Every state in 2013This day in weather historyWarnings in Alaska, May 2013
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: 448301.