An ice jam formed on the Kobuk River near the village of Kobuk on the 29th and produced flooding on the 30th through the early morning of the 31st. A number of structures in the village were flooded.
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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.
The episode as NWS AFG wrote it up.
An ice jam formed on the Kobuk River near the village of Kobuk on the 29th and produced flooding on the 30th through the early morning of the 31st. A number of structures in the village were flooded. Damage amounts are estimated.
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 28, 4:53 AM AKST, 4 hours 7 minutes earlier.
NORTHERN ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FAIRBANKS AK 553 AM AKDT TUE MAY 28 2013 .SYNOPSIS... ALOFT... THE LONG WAVE PATTERN CONSISTS OF A BLOCKING HIGH OVER MAINLAND ALASKA THAT WILL PERSIST INTO THE WEEKEND. THIS WILL KEEP INTERIOR ALASKA HOT AND DRY INTO THE WEEKEND. SEVERAL SHORT WAVES WILL MOVE EAST JUST NORTH OF THE ARCTIC COAST. THIS COULD BRINGS SOME LIGHT WEATHER TO THE ARCTIC COAST. SURFACE... A THERMAL LOW PRESSURE TROUGH OVER THE INTERIOR OF ALASKA WILL PERSIST THROUGH FRI. THIS WILL KEEP TEMPERATURES HOT AND DRY IN THE INTERIOR WITH HIGHS IN THE 70S AND LOWER 80S AND MIN HUMIDITIES DROPPING INTO THE TEENS IN THE PM'S. THERE WILL BE ISOLATED HIGH BASED PM SHOWERS ALONG THE TROUGH BUT MOST OF PRECIP WILL BE VIRGA. A 1015 MB LOW NEAR WRANGEL ISLAND WILL MOVE TO NEAR BARROW BY 3AM WED AND TO 100 NM NORTH OF DEMARCATION POINT BY 3AM THU. THIS WILL KEEP THE ARCTIC COAST IN STRATUS AND FOG WITH FZDZ. HIGH PRESSURE OVER THE BERING SEA WILL ALLOW AREAS OF DENSE FOG TO FORM AT NIGHT ALONG THE WEST COAST AND DISSIPATE IN THE AFTERNOON. && .DISCUSSION... MODELS SHOW SIMILAR SOLLUTIONS. && .FIRE WEATHER... VERY LOW RH AND HOT TEMPEATURES ACROSS INTERIOR NEXT SEVERAL DAYS AND CAUSING MANY RED FLAGS. && .HYDROLOGY... MAJOR ICE JAM AT BISHOP ROCK 17 MI DOWNRIVER OF GALEN. MOST OF GALENA IS UNDER WATER OTHER THAN THE DIKE PROTECTED AIRPORT. MANY PEOPLE EVACUATED OVERNIGHT. FLOODING EXPECTED AT KOYUKUK TODAY WHEN THE ICE JAM BREAKS AND LETS THE LARGE VOLUME OF WATER FLOW DOWNRIVER. WATCH STILL OUT FOR NULATO. FLOODING ALSO ACCURING AT BUCKLAND, AND AT HUGHES. SNOW MELT SHOULD BE PEAKING TODAY IN INTERIOR RIVERS. SALCHA AT THE BRIDGE AND CHENA AT THE MOOSE CREEK DAM ARE AT MINOR FLOOD STAGE NOW AND MAY NEED ADVISORY ISSUED TODAY. && .AFG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... RED FLAG WARNING FOR AKZ219-AKZ220-AKZ221-AKZ222-AKZ223-AKZ224- AKZ225-AKZ226-AKZ227. FLOOD WATCH FOR AKZ216-AKZ220-AKZ222-AKZ223-AKZ224-AKZ226. BRISK WIND ADVISORY FOR PKZ210. && JB MAY 13
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Alaska in 2013Every state in 2013This day in weather historyWarnings in Alaska, May 2013
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: 448302.