Flood in Lower Yukon River, Alaska

An ice jam formed in the Lower Yukon River upstream of Hill Island, on Saturday, May 18th. Water levels at Pilot Station rose slowly with water overbank and flooding roads in the lower portions of the village. As of early evening Saturday, May 18th, water surrounded the tribal office, AC store, tribal store and as many as 5 houses. At 330 pm Sunday, May 19th, trained river spotters reported the ice jam on the Yukon River downstream of Pilot Station released. Water levels were receding at Pilot Station due to the ice jam releasing by the morning of May 20th. A Flood Watch was issued on May 18th and upgraded to a Flood Warning on May 18th. The Flood Warning was cancelled on May 20th.

The 2024 spring breakup behaved generally more as thermal breakup of the Yukon River. In the eastern Interior, late April temperatures were warm, helping to deplete low elevation snowpack and degrade river ice across portions of the Upper Yukon River. Across the western part of the state, including the middle and lower Yukon River, breakup was slower due to a slow warmup of temperatures. This gradual warmup and large volumes of ice and water moving down the Yukon River to the Yukon Delta, resulted in a few ice jams and flooding on the Lower Yukon River.