Flood — Copper River Basin, Alaska

2023-05-21 to 2023-05-22 · near Gulkana, Copper River Basin, Alaska

Event narrative

Snowmelt flooding pushed the Gulkana River to moderate flood levels on May 21-22, 2023. Flooding of lowland areas and impacts to locations such as the Sourdough Campground led to flood advisory issuance. Richardson Highway was surrounded by high water and travelers in the region were notified of threats in the region.

Wider weather episode

An unusually cold spring kept snowpack intact and in place over the Copper River Basin into mid May. Once temperatures started to warm, they did so quickly and rapidly melted snowpack in the basin. An additional snow event later in May repeated the process creating multiple events where snowmelt would impact Glennallen and Old Edgerton Highway from Moose Creek snowmelt, and Gulkana and Sourdough areas along the Gulkana River.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (62.2700, -145.3800)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1104641. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.