Juneau glacier’s Suicide Basin is refilling, and Weather Service says it may release again

By
Suzanne Downing
-
9

Suicide Basin, alongside the Mendenhall Glacier, disgorged its water earlier this year, causing extensive flooding in Juneau’s Mendenhall Valley.

Since that major flood on Aug. 6, the base has apparently stopped draining and is now refilling with water that comes from glacial melt, rain, and snowmelt.

Win Gruening: Elections are over, flood recovery work goes on, and the threat continues

“The current water level in the basin is near 1230 feet as seen on the pool height sensor. The rate of rise has slowed due to the lowering freezing level below 5000ft, but the rate of rise can increase again from rising freezing levels and/or rain events. Ice bergs may move in and out of the laser sensor’s view, which may make the data jumpy at times,” the National Weather Service said.

The current levels are similar to what was observed in the end of early July 2024, a month before the major glacial flood that impacted entire neighborhoods in Juneau’s most populated area.

“If the basin released all its known water today, the lake would reach around 11.0 feet, which is above moderate flood stage of 10.0 feet. In 2023, there were multiple releases after the very large one from Suicide Basin. Another release may occur again this year. Please continue to monitor this page for current conditions as the basin refills through the fall season,” the Weather Service said.  

Images from the entire 2024 season camera on Suicide Basin can be viewed here.

Juneau’s Mendenhall River crests, now levels starting to drop as daylight reveals widespread damage
Water rising: Mendenhall River could crest at 15 feet, as Suicide Basin releases millions of gallons

9 COMMENTS

  1. My friend Marjorie told me all about this… This is a Democratic plot, engineered by liberal NOAA scientists who control the weather by secret codes developed from funding by George Soros.

    The glacial outburst is timed to flood the conservative neighborhoods of Juneau’s Mendenhall Valley on or near Election Day and destroy their votes.

  2. World ends tomorrow! Women and minorities hardest hit!

    I guess the CBJ and residents will have to change their focus a bit. Or not.

  5. Not to worry: The CBJ Assembly has appropriated $3 million for a study. The other $3 million required for the study, which will take 3 years or longer for completion, will be approved by one federal agency or another upon the city manager and selected assembly members making additional trips to DC. Some time ago the assembly appropriated funding to “teach drag queen lessons” and earlier the assembly took 6 months to debate the Paris Climate Accord, so clearly action is the watchword. And talking about the $17 million brass whale, which the tourism companies begged the assembly to not build (and the city lost in federal court ON SUMMARY JUDGEMENT) is not allowed. Only recently the assembly spent $4 million to purchase and dismantle a ski tram, and now that tram sits in the muskeg at the borough ski area with no solid plan to do anything with it. Given this far-reaching record of decisive action what would you advise the approximately 300 homeowners impacted by the 2024 basin release? Put their houses on stilts? Or floats? Build dikes around the house? Hand the keys back to the bank? Sell the house as beach-front property?

    There is very possibly a book deal in this for Suzanne Downing and/or Win Gruening. The climate change spin alone will sell books.

  6. We know this is gonna happen and we do nothing. It’s an annual event like the duck derby and the coho run.

    But thank God we’ve got funding for drag shows. Priorities, doncha know.

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