Fairbanks -- Rain-swollen rivers on the North Slope and in the Brooks Range have washed out several sections of the Dalton Highway, forcing its closure and prompting the National Weather Service to issue a flood warning for the area.

"The site near Toolik Lake had about 2 inches of rain in one day," from Thursday morning to Friday morning, said meteorologist Rick Thoman. "That is a heapload of rain for that part of the world."

The Dalton Highway remained closed at Mile 342 because of a washout of about 40 or 50 feet. Crews are replacing three culverts. The road is expected to reopen to one lane Monday morning.

The highway earlier had been closed at Mile 264.5 because of washouts near the Sagavanirktok River. By Saturday, water had subsided between Mile 291 and Mile 330.7, a state Department of Transportation advisory said. But the road remained narrow or down to one lane through that stretch. "We have had an unreal amount of water that just came at one time," said Terry Stenroos, an equipment operator at the Sag River Maintenance Station. "They had like 11 or 12 inches of snow and at least 11/2 of rain on top of that." The worst washout is about 72 miles south of Deadhorse, he said, where Mark Creek took out three culverts when it washed out the highway.

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