Kuskokwim Delta storm history

A 24 YOM perished after his snowmobile went through river ice during a storm producing near-zero visibility. The man died from exposure and was one 4 family members enroute from the village of Kwethluk to Russian Mission. Rescuers found two survivors and the body of the victim at…

Record heat was recorded at Bethel Saturday. Temperatures there reached 80 degrees F.20 miles upriver along the Kuskokwim River, near the village of Akiachak, a 6 year old boy was playing in the river with friends and disappeared. The body was found at about 10 pm Saturday.

A Napakiak man, Herman Motgin, age 31, died of hypothyermia Friday after he was found next to his snowmachine on the trail between Bethel and Napakiak, a short distance away. He was discovered in a hypothermic state on the trail about three miles north of Napakiak shortly after 8…

Ice Jam flooding due to spring breakup in Aniak.

The Mekoryuk ASOS (PAMY) reported heavy snowfall, winds gusting to over 40 mph, and visibility below one quarter of a mile from 8:55 PM AKST March 8th to 1:45 AM AKST March 9th. Webcams overlooking the village comfirmed this heavy snowfall and low visiblity.

The Mekoryuk ASOS station (PAMY) reported 0 to quarter mile visibilities and winds gusting to the mid 40s for several hours from 7:30 AM AKST to 2:30 PM AKST on January 30th. Multiple webcams along the coast from Newtok to Goodnews Bay revealed whiteout conditions in the morning …

The Mekoryuk ASOS Station (PAMY) reported heavy snow, gusty winds over 40 mph and visibility below one quarter of a mile from 10:44 AM AKST to past 2:30 PM AKST on January 26th. Webcams in the village confirmed this low visibility. Nunapitchuk Airport (PPIT) similarly reported bl…

Below average sea ice extent, including shorefast ice, was insufficient to properly shelter communities along the Kuskokwim Delta coast from storm surge. A Kwigillingok community coordinator shared pictures showcasing flooding that occurred on January 12th. Flooding continued int…

Kwigillingok, Alaska saw major flooding on January 10th. A tribal resilience coordinator reported that water levels were the highest ... seen thus far. He continued: A group of Russian Orthodox Christians, observing Slaviq (a Russian Orthodox equivalent to Christmas), were forced…

A tide gage in Kwigillingok measured water levels exceeding 2.3 feet above mean higher high water (MHHW) between December 18th and 19th. A local Tribal Resilience Office reported that lakes in Kwigillingok overflowed with standing water near the village. A dirt road in the villag…

An AWOS in Kipnuk (PAKI) reported strong winds gusting to over 40 mph, visibilities predominantly at 1/4SM, and moderate to heavy snowfall from 21:55 AKST 11/04 to 01:05 AKST 11/05.

Tuntutuliak Public Safety Office reported several houses close to the river were filled with water. Conditions reportedly Worse than Merbok, with more water and stronger wind/waves. A boat was reported to be overturned in the river by wind/waves; it later sunk.

Napakiak City Office reported water over the roads coinciding with high tide. Water moved gravel along and off the street. Sloughs filled up along a road that runs between the city and airport, overrunning the road with water. Southwest winds during high tide further contributed …

Nearly-persistent southerly winds led to storm surge and backed up flow, exacerbated by heavy rain, along the Kuskokwim River between August 15 and 18. Residents reported flooding and rapid bank erosion during high tides on August 16 and 17 at Akiak, Napakiak, Kasigluk, and Tuntu…

Between August 15 and 18, water levels exceeded one foot over the normal highest water line during each high tide cycle in both Kwigillingok and Kipnuk. The highest water levels were recorded by tide gauges in both of these communities on the 18th, reaching 2.6 ft above mean high…

Thunderstorms developing off the Kilbuck Mountains in the afternoon on June 17 pushed west over the Kuskokwim Delta, producing numerous lightning strikes. Thunderstorm activity lasted through around 10 pm. A total of 17 new fire starts in the Southwest region were reported in Ala…

NWS Riverwatch reported an ice jam had formed near Napakiak and the impounded water would be reported to flood most of the village of Napakiak. The warning was rolled into an additional warning for the reach from Napakiak upstream to Bethel. Widespread flooding of the tundra in a…

Riverwatch would report an ice jam had formed near Napakiak and was flooding communities upstream including Napaskiak and Oscarville. The initial advisory was upgraded to a warning which covered the reach of the Kuskokwim River from Bethel downstream through Napakiak. Widespread …

Initial flooding in Bethel and surrounding areas causes minor low land overflows and some impacted to transportation prompting an advisory, however flood intensity started to increase when the ice jam stalled downstream causing large amounts of impounded water to inundate well in…

Widespread ice jam flooding impacted Kwethluk. The Riverwatch team reported the widespread flooding in Kwethluk which would continue to increase in severity as colder temperatures slowed down the movement of the ice jam downstream. The primary school in Kwethluk was flooded and n…

Riverwatch initially reported impounded water had flooded one home and was threatening others prompting a flood advisory which would be upgraded to a Flood Warning on 5/7/24 at 7:39am. Riverwatch team would send an updated report that Tuluksak was flooding from a few sides: water…

Ice jam flooding had impounded water at a jam located below Kalskag, and the flooding had closed the road connecting Upper and Lower Kalskag impacting transportation in the area. Additional jams were backing up flows along Mud Creek which was impounding water surrounding Kalskag.…

Blizzard conditions were recorded over two separate periods over the course of the Warning. The first was from 6:30 AM to 11:30 AM local time, with 1/4 mile visibility in blowing snow conditions, as winds gusted as high as 45 mph. A second period of similar conditions occurred fr…

A strong Bering frontal system moved over Southwest between April 10th and April 11th, producing widespread gusty south winds and falling/blowing snow. Several hours of blizzard conditions occurred along the Kuskokwim Delta Coast, including PAOO and PAMY on the morning of 4/10, s…

A warm front off a hurricane-force low in the far western Bering Sea arrived at the Southwest coast midday on April 2. Winds dropped out at PAMY during the worst conditions; before doing so, visibility of less than a quarter mile, and gusts to 43 kts were recorded. Precipitation …

The Mekoryuk AWOS observed blizzard conditions for several hours through the afternoon and evening of March 19. Winds gusted as high as 55 knots (63 mph) out of the east-southeast as blowing snow reduced visibility to one quarter mile or less. Conditions improved around 8 pm AKDT…

The Mekoryuk AWOS observed blizzard conditions with one quarter mile visibility or less with winds 30 knots (35 mph) or greater from around 4 pm on March 18 until just after midnight on March 19. Temperatures began to warm into the mid 30s Fahrenheit as snow turned to rain on the…

The Mekoryuk AWOS recorded over 3 hours of winds gusting between 35 and 40 mph and 1/4 mile visibility in snow/blowing snow between 9:30 AM and 1:20 PM AKST 2/21. Low visibility down to 1/2 mile also pushed inland to Bethel for a short time as the frontal system producing the mor…

Toksook Bay AWOS (PAOO) experienced blizzard conditions from 11:15 AM AKST 2/15 through 9:40 PM 2/14 with 1/4 mile visibility and winds gusting up to 50 mph. Visibility gradually improved going into the overnight hours of 1/15 even as heavier snow continued to fall, with rapid im…

The Toksook Bay AWOS recorded 1/4 to 1/2 mile visibility in blowing snow with 20 to 27 mph sustained winds between 10 AM and 3 PM AKST 2/13. Low visibility was also showing up on area webcams along the rest of the Kuskokwim Delta Coast during this time, including near Kipnuk.

The Toksook Bay AWOS recorded visibility predominantly at a half mile with 25 to 35 mph sustained winds in snow and blowing snow between 7:45 AM and 11 AM AKST 2/5. Similar conditions were likely occurring along other portions of the Kuskokwim Delta Coast, but observations were n…

The Toksook Bay AWOS began reporting blizzard conditions with 40 mph wind gusts and 1/4 mile visibility at 8:30 AM AKST 1/3. Conditions continued to meet blizzard criteria through 1 PM AKST 1/3.

Blowing snow led to half mile visibility recorded at the Mekoryuk AWOS from 8:15 pm January 13 through 12:50 am January 14. Winds gusted as high as 44 knots (51 mph) during this period. Visibility improved through the morning hours of January 14 as snow intensity decreased with t…

The Mekoryuk AWOS recorded several hours of blowing snow with visibility of one half mile or less from 6:55 am through 11:45 am on the morning of January 10. During that period, winds gusted as high as 39 knots (45 mph). Blizzard-like conditions were observed at times. Low visibi…

Blizzard conditions were observed by the Mekoryuk AWOS beginning on the morning of Jan 6 as a storm force low tracking into the Bering Sea pushed its occluded front across Southwest Alaska. Winds gusted as high as 45 knots (52 mph) while visibility remained one quarter mile or le…

The Toksok Bay AWOS recorded 1/4 mile visibility with falling/blowing snow from around 9 PM 1/2 to 1 AM AKST 1/3. The wind sensor at the observation site was down for the course of the event, but a nearby mesonet site at Chefornak consistently recorded winds around 35 to 45 mph d…

A weak front off a deep, occluded low centered near the eastern Aleutians tracked northward across Southwest Alaska on Nov 22. A band of light precipitation led to a mix of precipitation types across the Kuskokwim Delta that evening, with light rain reported by the Bethel ASOS at…

The Kipnuk and Mekoryuk ASOS recorded 1/4 to 1/2SM visibilites and winds to 61 mph over several hours. Meanwhile, the Bethel ASOS recorded visibilites of one and a quarter SM with peak winds of 50mph.

Mekoryuk AWOS began reporting near blizzard conditions with 1/2 mile visibility or less and sustained winds around 30 to 40 mph beginning shortly before 1 AM 3/1. Gusty west winds continued much of the day on 3/1 into the afternoon with very low visibility and lasted into the ear…

The Mekoryuk AWOS recorded blizzard conditions from the afternoon of February 27 through the early morning of February 28, with a sustained period of wind gusts in excess of 35 knots (40 mph). Blizzard conditions were also observed along the Kuskokwim Delta coast, at the Kipnuk A…

Kipnuk AWOS reported visibility down to 1/2 mile starting around 8 pm 2/16 through 12 am 2/17 with blowing snow and strong offshore winds gusting as high as 54 mph.

Kipnuk AWOS began experiencing ground blizzard conditions at 3 AM AKST 2/10. The site experienced visibility to 1/4 mile or less with sustained northeast winds above 35 mph from 3:00 AM to 10:25 AM AKST, after which the visibility sensor dropped out. Staff at the Bethel Weather S…

Areas around Bethel began seeing snow mix with freezing around 5-6 PM 1/27 with clear evidence if ice buildup on the Napakiak webcam cover facing into the wind, and similarly at Bethel slightly later in the evening. Freezing rain was also reported at the Bethel ASOS at 9 PM 1/27.…

Strong offshore winds combined with plenty of transportable snow lead to a long duration ground blizzard event across much of the Kuskokwim Delta from 1/22 to 1/23. The worst conditions were observed at the Kipnuk AWOS, where 1/4 mile or less visibility with blowing snow and sust…

Bethel, Napakiak and Kwethluk AWOS observations all hit -40 wind chills at various points in time on the morning of 1/21/23 with north winds around 10 to 15 mph.

Chefornak and Toksook webcams showed visibilities of about a 1/2 mile; Kipnuk observations showed 1/2 mile or less from 00:32z-0124Z.