VAWS: Breaking Up is Hard to Do: The Use of Imagery from Weather Satellites to Anticipate and Observe Breakup Flooding in Alaska

Speakers: Eric Stevens (GINA) and Jessie Cherry (NWS)

Every spring the previous winter’s snowpack melts and can cause ice jams and flooding in Alaska. A new generation of weather satellites is helping the National Weather Service (NWS) anticipate and monitor breakup flooding in new ways.

Examples of satellite imagery will be presented, along with descriptions of how these images are useful to the NWS and allow the NWS to provide enhanced services to state and local emergency managers.

• Alaska-Pacific River Forecast Center
• Training module, “JPSS River Ice and Flood Products”
• River Flood Product

News stories from Galena flood of 2013:

• Anchorage Daily News
• Sky News