Higher than normal snowpack and ice thickness, among other factors, have created heightened risks in 2026 for much of the Yukon River, the Tanana River, and the lower Kuskokwim River, according to the Alaska-Pacific River Forecast Center.
A rainbow frames a view upriver from the community of Aniak on the Kuskokwim River, where a long run of ice was stuck in place on the evening of May 1, 2025.report released March 13The heightened risks apply broadly to the Interior, much of the Yukon River, the Tanana River, and the lower Kuskokwim River.
Factors for the increased flooding risk include above-average snowpack, average to above-average river ice thickness, high water when freeze-up occurred, and rough ice conditions or freeze-up ice jams reported at multiple Interior locations. Snowpack for the Upper Yukon River and Tanana River basins, as well as across much of the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, has been as much as one and half times above the average this winter. Rivers in the interior part of the state have seen above-average ice thicknesses following the coldest winter in the region in 30 to 50 years, according to the report. Ice thickness in early March on the Tanana River at Nenana tied the thickest ever recorded for that time of year, reaching 51 inches. High water levels and jumbled ice conditions for Interior waterways during the fall freeze-up have increased the chance of ice jam flooding along the lower Yukon River and portions of the Kuskokwim River. Theon the lower Kuskokwim River at Bethel is May 9. The average date for communities at the mouth of the Yukon River is May 20. The report says that it is still early to tell how all the melting ice and snow will play out. Near normal temperatures predicted through May for Western Alaska could lead to a dynamic breakup and ice jam-related flood risks on much of the Yukon River. But the report says there is also a potential for above-normal temperatures during the same period, which would significantly reduce flooding risk along both the lower Yukon River and Kuskokwim River. The exceptions are the Koyukuk River basin in the Western Interior, and the Southcentral part of the state, which face a lower threat of breakup flooding due to below-average snowpack, according to the report.Copyright 2026 KYUK
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