An online dashboard turns glacier, basin, and river data into forecasts that give residents and officials hours or days to prepare for recurring glacial outburst floods from the Mendenhall Glacier.
A public dashboard introduced in 2025 translates glacier and hydrology data into actionable flood forecasts, helping residents decide when to protect belongings or evacuate.
Residents combine community measures (barriers, raised houses, sandbags) with the dashboard’s warnings to reduce damage and gain time to respond.
Juneau has experienced a marked increase in floods tied to meltwater and rain that collect in a basin beside the Mendenhall Glacier. For years the floods were relatively small, but record river heights in 2023 were followed by new benchmarks in 2024 and 2025, and another flood occurred last month. Scientists expect these glacial outburst floods to continue annually for decades.
Rolled out in 2025, an online forecasting dashboard translates complex glacier, basin, and hydrology data into forecasts residents can use. The tool provides predictions of flood timing and height, with the ability to predict the height of glacial floods within hours. Residents check the dashboard daily. The forecasts give officials and thousands of residents more time to act — to place sandbags, raise doors, move valuables, or plan evacuations.
How people and government are adapting
Responses combine individual actions and public infrastructure. Residents have dug moats, raised houses on stilts, and use sandbags to brace doors. The city constructed roughly six miles of barriers between the Mendenhall River and homes. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers assisted with barrier installation. Houses are for sale in the valley, but buyers face a flood-prone market and many residents have little choice but to adapt.
Glacial outburst floods occur in other mountain regions worldwide, including Iceland, the Alps, and the Himalayas. Juneau's experience illustrates an approach to recurring climate-driven hazards: convert scientific data into direct, public-facing forecasts so people on the front lines gain time to respond. The dashboard is changing how the community prepares and responds to predictable, repeated floods.
Residents speak to the dashboard's value in practical terms: it is on their minds constantly, they check it daily, and they rely on it to determine when to act. One homeowner said the system can accurately predict flood height within hours, which he described as "pretty amazing." Those concrete forecasts reduce uncertainty for people who already face repeated damage and high repair costs.
An online forecasting tool translates complex glacier data into information that gives residents and officials more time to prepare and respond. The post Juneau Can’t Stop the Floods, but It’s Learning to See Them Coming appeared first on The Good Men Project .
Climate change is making glacial lake outbursts much more frequent.
The researchers say the data should make officials rethink preconceived ideas about flooding conditions to improve flood forecasting, preparedness and response.
The system is the first of its kind in the country and combines tides, river flows and weather forecasts to predict where floodwaters might go during severe weather.
Melting glaciers spell disaster around the world. Protecting people will be a challenge for decades to come.
As all four counties recover from flooding and damages, leaders say coastal retreat, better access and backup power are needed, especially in rural areas.
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