Alaska, 2013

Flood in Alaska, May 27 to 29, 2013

May 27 to 29, 2013 · NWS AFG · 1 event in 1 county or zone

An ice jam formed 1/2 mile downstream from Buckland on the Buckland River during the afternoon of the 26th causing flooding in the village of Buckland beginning the morning of the 27th. Water levels dropped on the morning of the 29th below flood levels.

Where it happened

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  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$2,000
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 1/2 mile downstream from Buckland on the Buckland River during the afternoon of the 26th causing flooding in the village of Buckland beginning the morning of the 27th. Water levels dropped on the morning of the 29th below flood levels. During the event the lower part of the village was flooded and several homes were surrounded by water. Damage amounts are estimated.

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 27, 1:13 AM AKST, 4 hours 47 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 27, 1:13 AM AKST, 4 hours 47 minutes before
NORTHERN ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FAIRBANKS AK
213 AM AKDT MON MAY 27 2013

.DISCUSSION...
MODELS IN DECENT AGREEMENT THROUGH AT LEAST 48 HOURS. UPPER LEVEL
TROUGH SWINGING EASTWARD ACROSS THE ARCTIC COAST TO THE CANADIAN
BORDER BY THIS AFTERNOON. UPPER LEVEL RIDGE THAT IS RESPONSIBLE
FOR THE SURGE IN TEMPERATURES OVER NORTHERN ALASKA THAT WILL
CONTINUE FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE WEEK. TEMPERATURES HOVERED IN
THE MID 70S TO LOW 80S ON SUNDAY. TEMPERATURES WILL LIKELY
INCREASE A FEW MORE DEGREES FROM WED THROUGH FRI BEFORE A SLIGHT
COOLING IN TEMPERATURES NEXT WEEKEND.

THE UPPER LOW THAT WAS PICKED UP COMING OUT OF THE GULF OF ALASKA
ON SUNDAY WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE WEST. MOST OF ITS ENERGY WILL MOVE
INTO THE BERING SEA. BUT ANOTHER SMALL PIECE OF ENERGY WILL MOVE
AROUND THE UPPER RIDGE AND COME BACK INTO MAINLAND ALASKA AND MAY
BE THE IMPETUS FOR A FEW SHOWERS AND MAYBE EVEN A THUNDERSTORM
TUE THROUGH THU.

MODELS CONTINUE TO SHOW A LARGE COOL AIR MASS MOVE DOWN FROM THE
ARCTIC NEXT WEEK. THIS WOULD SUPPLY SNOW TO THE ARCTIC COAST WHILE
SOME SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE ISOLATED THROUGHOUT THE
EASTERN INTERIOR.

&&

.FIRE WEATHER...
UPPER LEVEL RIDGE DRYING OUT NEARLY ALL OF NORTHERN ALASKA SOUTH
OF THE BROOKS RANGE. THIS IS ALLOWING RH VALUES TO PLUMMET BELOW
15% IN SEVERAL AREAS WILL RAISE THE CONCERN FOR FIRE WEATHER
WATCHES.

&&

.HYDROLOGY...
NUMEROUS TRIBUTARIES AND SMALL STREAMS REMAIN UNDER THE WATCH OR
ADVISORY BECAUSE OF RAPID SNOW MELT. ICE JAM IN PLACE DOWN RIVER
OF GALENA WILL REMAIN IN PLACE AND BACK UP WATER INTO THE VILLAGE
OF GALENA.

&&

.AFG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
RED FLAG WARNING FOR AKZ220-AKZ221-AKZ222-AKZ223-AKZ224-AKZ225-
AKZ226-AKZ227.

FLOOD WATCH FOR AKZ216-AKZ220-AKZ222-AKZ223-AKZ224-AKZ226.
&&

CF MAY 13

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flood, Nrn & Intr. Seward Peninsula

When
May 27, 6:00 AM AKST to May 29, 8:00 AM AKST
Where
Nrn & Intr. Seward Peninsula County, 0.5 mi E of Buckland to 0.8 mi SE of Buckland
Cause
Ice Jam
Property damage
$2,000
Reported by
Public
Coordinates
65.980, -161.132

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

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: 455332.