Flood — Lower Kuskokwim Valley, Alaska

2023-05-13 · near Sleetmute, Lower Kuskokwim Valley, Alaska

Event narrative

An ice jam was reported by the NWS Riverwatch team located 5 miles downstream of Red Devil, AK which caused 12-18 inches of flood depth on the Red Devil Airstrip Runway. 4 feet deep floodwaters were reported in low lying sections of the Village of Red Devil. Most homes were elevated. Flooding was reported to be worst than 2022. Ice jam cleared late in the day on 5/13/23.

Wider weather episode

Unusually cold weather kept ice coverage in place on rivers across Alaska in spring 2023 with breakup much later than normal. Ice started breaking up on the upper reach of the Kuskokwim River starting May 4th when ice started showing movement at Nikolai. Ice continued to melt, move and jam into late May. A Flood Watch was issued for Red Devil on May 13 and additional flood watches continued to be issued as ice jam flooding continued to threaten communities downstream until the ice jam threat passed on the Kuskokwim River, May 22, 2023. This episode covers the time from May 13 though May 18. May 19-22 are covered in the next Kuskokwim Episode.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (61.7937, -157.3782)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1093743. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.