A synopsis, originally written for radio by Tim Bodony
Galena, Alaska
This is the spring breakup report, with information from the Alaska Pacific River Forecast Center and the Fresh Eyes on Ice Project, current as of 7 am Wednesday, May 13th.
The National Weather Service has issued a flood watch for Galena until 10 pm today (Wednesday), due to possible ice jam flooding. A flood watch means that conditions are present that could result in flooding. Ice was stalled all day Tuesday near the mouth of the Yuki, but this stoppage did not appear to be a full-blown ice jam that blocked all water from going past it. Aerial photos and videos from Tuesday basically show a few darkened ice sheets with some pressure ridges stuck at a point where the river narrows just down from the mouth of the Yuki – the same place where ice backed up in 2023. It is possible that ice near the Yuki is thick enough that intact ice sheets are serving as vertical ice dams, filling the space from river bed to surface and not letting water pass under them. Whatever is going on there, it has clogged the river enough to cause significant high water at Ruby, where river levels have not reportedly been so high in decades. Should water backed up behind this ice stoppage release suddenly, it could result in a rapid rise at Galena.
There is a Flood Advisory in place for Ruby and campsites upstream of Ruby until midday Wednesday. River levels were high but fluctuating on Tuesday, climbing up at times to the Dineega Fuel Depot. Ice movement in Ruby stopped Tuesday evening. The river in front of Ruby is packed with jumbled chunk ice. Big Eddy camp upriver from Ruby saw flood water come over the bank starting around 7 pm Tuesday. Levels at Ruby came down a bit between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.
River level at Galena Wednesday morning at 5:30 was 115.3 feet –a slight drop from Tuesday night.
At Bishop Mountain late Tuesday, an ice sheet was still in place on the upriver side of Bishop Mountain, but this sheet continues to shows signs of weakening and fracturing. The open water areas along the north bank upriver of Bishop toward Banana Lake are expanding, but river levels are still relatively low there, with sandbars exposed along the north side of the river.
There is still a Flood Warning in effect for Hughes until Wednesday evening, though reports indicate river levels have dropped significantly there overnight. The ice jam that had been in place at Rock Island Point, about 7 miles downstream from Hughes, appeared to start breaking up on Tuesday evening, resulting in ice movement at Hughes and a subsequent water level drop, which exposed areas in downtown Hughes that had been underwater for several days.
There is a Flood Warning in effect for the Yukon River at Stevens Village until Friday morning due to evidence of an ice jam. Early Wednesday morning, residents of Stevens Village reported a rapid 5 foot rise in water levels. While no homes were flooded yet, water levels are expected to continue rising. The rapid rise in water levels suggests that this flooding is likely being caused by an ice jam. Impounding water due to the ice jam will cause rapid river rises upstream.
The National Weather Service has a Flood Watch in place for Fort Yukon through Wednesday evening. Water levels in the Porcupine River are rising due to snowmelt which is pushing water into the Sucker River on the north and west sides of Fort Yukon. The Sucker River is starting to flow over low-lying roads near the NE end of the runway. Water levels could keep rising for several days as the snowmelt pulse in the Porcupine makes its way into the Yukon.
The River Forecast Center classifies the Yukon as open from Dawson to Fort Yukon, and the Tanana River is open along its entire length. River levels are stable according to the automated gauges at Manley, Nenana, and Eagle.
You can get more information at weather.gov/aprfc and the Fresh Eyes on Ice Facebook page.
The Cutbank 