Mendenhall Lake crests at 10.18 feet at 5:45 a.m. after second release from Suicide Basin

Flooding of some areas near Mendenhall Glacier expected to end Friday morning as water level drops rapidly, according to National Weather Service Juneau

A graph shows the crest of a secondary release from Suicide Basin on Friday, Oct. 2, 2026. (National Weather Service Juneau)

By Mark Sabbatini

Juneau Independent

A second release this year from Suicide Basin crested at Mendenhall Lake at 5:45 a.m. Friday and the water level there is dropping rapidly, according to the National Weather Service Juneau,

"The Mendenhall Lake crested early Friday morning, and the Mendenhall River will crest shortly," an advisory issued by NWS Juneau at 6:50 a.m. states. "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."

The release, announced early Thursday morning by the weather service, followed a similar pattern to secondary releases in other years that peaked well below the major flooding that occurred in August of each of those years, according to Suicide Basin’s official monitoring website.

"In 2024, a secondary release occurred October 19-21," the website notes. "In 2025, a secondary release occurred September 14-16. The crests for these respective releases were 10.77' for 2024 and 9.63' for 2025."

City and Borough of Juneau officials on Thursday deployed "a limited number of response personnel and equipment, including pumps, to areas of known seepage," according to the city’s website.

• Contact Mark Sabbatini at editor@juneauindependent.com or 907-957-2306.