Flood — Yukon Delta Coast, Alaska

2024-05-23 to 2024-05-25 · near Emmonak, Yukon Delta Coast, Alaska

Event narrative

An ice jam formed in the Yukon River Delta near Emmonak on May 23rd. Ice started moving at Emmonak at 4 am on Thursday, May 23rd, and then stopped, with ice blocked up from bank to bank. Water was rising fast at Emmonak and flooding low-lying areas, including the road to the airport. The airport was closed and the road to the airport was flooded with water too deep for cars or trucks to pass. The staff gage at the power plant reported 2 feet. No structures were reported as of 8 am Thursday, May 23rd. At 930 am on Friday, May 24th, a trained river spotter reported that an ice jam that had formed on the Yukon River near Emmonak on Thursday May 23rd remained in place and that flooding of low-lying areas in Emmonak was occurring, including the road to the airport. As of Friday morning May 24th, no structures were flooding in Emmonak. Emmonak was reported to be at the same water level as seen in the 2023 break up flood. At 11 am on Friday May 24th, an observer in Alaknuk reported widespread minor flooding was occurring and that the water had risen 2 feet since Thursday May 23rd. The observer reported that the road to the airport had 4 inches of water over it. Water levels at Alaknuk was reported to be 10 inches below the 2023 breakup flood. Water levels were receding and water was flowing by the morning of Saturday, May 25th. A Flood Watch was issued on May 20th and upgraded to a Flood Warning on May 23rd. The Flood Warning was cancelled on May 25th.

Wider weather episode

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.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (62.8114, -164.4769)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1200523. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.