Record-breaking rain blocks Anchorage roads amid flood advisory

A sport-utility conveyance drives done h2o on Lake Otis Parkway adjacent 47th Avenue connected Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024. (Leigh Walden/Alaska Public Media)

Much of Anchorage is nether a flood advisory Thursday aft a record-breaking rainfall drenched nan city. Heavy rainfall was forecast to proceed passim nan day.

The flood advisory for section waterways and low-lying areas is successful effect until 4 p.m., according to nan National Weather Service.. Chester Creek adjacent Arctic Boulevard was astir a ft supra its flood shape precocious Wednesday, pinch flooding expected on nan creek’s motorcycle way beneath nan C Street bridge. Campbell Creek adjacent Dimond Boulevard was besides nearing its flood stage.

Anchorage constabulary spokeswoman Amanda Brimanis said h2o had closed Spenard Road astatine 19th Avenue arsenic of 9:15 a.m. Thursday, pinch 1 westbound lane of East 36th Avenue astatine MacInnes Street besides blocked. No conveyance accidents related to opinionated h2o aliases hydroplaning connected roads had been reported to constabulary overnight Wednesday.

Michael Kutz, a meteorologist pinch nan upwind service, said this week’s rainfall has been nan merchandise of an “atmospheric river” carrying moisture northbound crossed Southcentral Alaska, arsenic overmuch of nan authorities is bracketed by a high-pressure area complete Canada and a low-pressure strategy successful nan eastbound Bering Sea.

“This is simply a far-reaching event,” Kutz said. “That atmospheric stream is conscionable hosing america down, pushing it into nan Interior.”

The upwind service’s Anchorage agency had received sporadic reports overnight Wednesday of h2o ponding connected section roads, according to Kutz. Deeper flooding was reported northbound successful nan Skwentna and Yentna River areas, pinch nan Lake Creek and McDougall lodges reporting 12 to 18 inches of h2o adjacent their buildings.

Kutz said Anchorage saw 1.33 inches of rainfall Wednesday, astir doubling nan city’s erstwhile grounds of 0.7 inches for Aug. 7 group successful 1980.

According to Kutz, Anchorage typically receives astir 6.8 inches of yearly rainfall by Aug. 7 – a number 2024 has easy surpassed, pinch much than half of this year’s full falling since mid-July.

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“The charismatic full for nan twelvemonth to day truthful acold (is) 10.74 inches, truthful adjacent to 4 inches supra normal,” he said.

The section forecast calls for rainfall from nan atmospheric stream to taper disconnected starting Thursday afternoon, pinch chances of rainfall continuing Friday and Saturday. Another rainy strategy is headed for nan region and group to get Sunday, Kutz said.