Heavy rain in Anchorage triggers road closures and floods basements

Aug. 8—A flood advisory was in place for Anchorage through Thursday afternoon after heavy rain swelled creeks and left water pooling on roadways, triggering road closures and flooded basements for some.

The National Weather Service issued the advisory late Wednesday night, effective through 4 pm Thursday, due to possible flooding “caused by excessive rainfall” that’s prompting numerous local waterways to rise. The advisory comes after an atmospheric river of precipitation bearing down on Southcentral led to several watches, warnings and advisories and triggered flooding in Seward on Wednesday.

Officials warned of a band of heavy rain coming through Anchorage on Thursday morning and urged residents to exercise caution while driving or walking around rivers, streams or other bodies of water. Commuters on the Glenn Highway reported standing water in ruts and occasional hydroplaning.

Northbound traffic on Spenard Road at 19th Avenue and Hillcrest Drive was closed due to flooding, according to an Anchorage Police Department alert at 9:30 am. There were also flood-related lane closures at 36th Avenue and MacInnes Street.

The phones at Dry Out Systems in Anchorage rang steadily all morning Wednesday, one employee there said between calls. While many people reported flooded basements, he said, it was also important to check crawlspaces for water.

Sections of the municipal trail system were experiencing significant flooding, according to an update midmorning Thursday from the Anchorage Parks and Recreation Department that accompanied a photo of the Chester Creek Trail at C Street totally under water. Officials urged trail users to exercise caution and asked anyone who spots flooding or erosion to report it by sending photos to [email protected].

This latest concentrated burst of rain comes after an already wet summer.

Since July 12, the Weather Service had measured more than 5.6 inches of rain at the agency’s Sand Lake offices as of Wednesday, according to meteorologist Michael Kurz. That’s more than half of the 10.74 inches that’s fallen since the start of the year.

The year-to-date normal average is 6.8 inches, Kurz said.

This storm is expected to diminish into a “break” of scattered showers by Friday — before a fresh storm moves in this weekend and brings more rain through Sunday, he said. “We’re kind of stuck midflow on an atmospheric river.”

Anchorage hit a daily record for rain on Wednesday, with 1.33 inches measured at the National Weather Service station in Sand Lake, the agency said. The prior record, .7 inches, was set in 1980.

The advisory in place for Anchorage Thursday morning warns of minor flooding in low-lying and poor drainage areas and elevated flows along area creeks and streams, ponding on pavement and debris clogging storm drained and ditches.

Minor flooding of Chester Creek and Campbell Creek near Dimond Boulevard was “ongoing or expected to begin shortly,” the advisory said. In Eagle River and Chugiak, localized urban flooding and ponding was also likely, it said.

A flood warning was also in effect until Saturday afternoon for the Susitna Valley, where 2 to 4 inches of rain fell over some areas of the Lake Creek, Skwentna, and Yentna river basins over the past 48 hours. Rivers were expected to rise into Friday before cresting, with an additional rise of 1 to 2 feet possible.

A satellite chart shows a long stretch of moisture settling down over the North Pacific “basically pumping moisture over the top of us” and slowly moving to the east, Kurz said.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.