Flood Warning

The Mendenhall Lake crested early Friday morning, and the Mendenhall River will crest shortly. Flooding is ongoing, and is expected to continue near Mendenhall Lake and River before coming to an end later this morning as water levels decrease rapidly behind the crest.

* WHAT...Flooding caused by a glacier-dammed lake outburst continues.

* WHERE...The Mendenhall Lake And River near the Mendenhall Glacier Recreation area, View Drive and below Back Loop bridge.

* WHEN...Until 745 AM AKDT Saturday.

* IMPACTS...Flooding of the area around Mendenhall Lake and along the Mendenhall River is imminent or occurring. Water levels will decrease now that the Mendenhall Lake has crested, and Mendenhall River will crest through the next hour.

* ADDITIONAL DETAILS... - At 648 AM AKDT, gauge data reports that the Mendenhall Lake has crested, with the Mendenhall River to follow suit in the next hour. Flooding continues near The Mendenhall Lake And River. - The outburst flood forecast is based on an estimated volume of water in the glacier dammed lake and an estimated release rate based on previous events. The extent of water drainage within the basin (partial or full) can vary widely between outburst flood events and is a major source of uncertainty in the forecast, particularly with regard to the peak flood stage. - For Mendenhall Lake : At 5:45am the stage was 10.18 feet, which was the crest. Flood Stage is 9.0 feet. Forecast: A crest of 10.18 feet occurred at 5:45am Friday morning. Water levels exceeded moderate flood stage of 10 feet around 5:00am Friday. Water levels will fall below minor flood stage late morning Friday.

Impacts: At 7.7 feet: Nugget Falls trail begins to flood near the beginning of the trail. Along the Mendenhall River some sections will experience bank erosion resulting in dangerous tree fall. These conditions could make floating the river more hazardous with the higher water levels. At 9.0 feet: Water starts to cover Skaters Cabin Road between Skaters Cabin and West Glacier Trailhead, also water will flow into the Mendenhall Lake Campground. At 9.5 feet: Water levels up to 0.5 feet will cover Skaters Cabin Road between Skaters Cabin and West Glacier Trailhead. Campsite 7 will be flooded with water starting to flow over the road between campsites 8 and 9 in the Mendenhall Campground. At 10.0 feet: Water levels will inundate Mendenhall Campground with up to 3 feet of water covering low areas as well as up to 1.5 feet of water covering Skaters Cabin Road. Portions of West Glacier Trail will be impassable. Areas along View Dr will start to flood and cause minor flooding of yards. Closure of pedestrian pathways beneath Brotherhood Bridge and the trail system on the west side of Mendenhall River during outburst events.