Areas along the central Susitna Valley near Talkeetna are expected to see minor flooding through Friday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service.
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The Talkeetna River was hovering around minor flood level Thursday afternoon. There’s a flood advisory for the area in effect until 3:15 p.m. Friday.
“Low-lying roads, low-lying spots, kind of right along the river there,” said National Weather Service lead forecaster Alan Shriver. “That’s really going to be the type of flooding that we’re most expecting at this point.”
Talkeetna public radio station KTNA reported that Alaska Railroad service north of Talkeetna was stopped Thursday due to a landslide, as crews worked on clearing the area. Both the Talkeetna and Susitna rivers rose significantly after rain overnight.
Southcentral Alaska has seen a strong low pressure system that began in the Bering Sea and moved across mainland Alaska, Shriver said. That, combined with several recent storms, caused more rain to fall on the area than usual this month, approaching record levels, he said.
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“It’s really the multiple rounds of really somewhat anomalous rainfall,” Shriver said. “This is pretty wet by standards for July.”
The Matanuska-Susitna Borough declared a disaster for the Talkeetna on Tuesday, before the heavy rain, and is requesting state support for help mitigating impacts to residents and buildings.
Shriver said the area is set to see a break in the rainy weather as conditions dry up over the weekend.
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