The city of Fairbanks, nearby Fort Wainwright, and Nenana saw record breaking water levels and widespread damage.
The worst flooding occurred in the White Mountains northeast of Fairbanks, although this area is sparsely populated.
As a result of the flood and to help prevent further disasters, stream and precipitation gauges were installed in the Chena River basin to monitor water levels.
[2] Fairbanks and nearby communities were established and expanded on the Tanana River floodplain[3][2] and there were at least 15 serious floods recorded that happened in the area.
[4] The floodplain experiences two kinds of flooding, one from spring breakup and the other from short duration heavy rainfall in the summer.
In August, a large scale pattern brought arctic air from the northwest of Alaska and increased winds from the southwest.
[7] This was in part due to the remnants of Tropical Storm Hope and an arctic front west of Fairbanks that brought in an atmospheric river from the Pacific on 8–11 August.
On 12 August, weather conditions were similar to those found in squall lines in the Great Plains of the United States.
[2] Upstream from Fairbanks there were numerous landslides caused by heavy rain, and several stream gauges were destroyed.
Landslides were also reported in the area[2] Downriver from Nenana, the Tolovana River contributed to flooding, causing damage along the Elliot Highway.
[6] In order to help prevent similar disasters, a network of precipitation and stream gauges were also installed along the Chena and Tanana river basins.