Atmospheric rivers (ARs) transport vast amounts of moisture from low to high latitude regions. One region particularly impacted by ARs is Interior Alaska (AK). We analyze the impact of ARs on the annual river ice breakup date at 25 locations in AK. We investigate the AR-driven rise in local air temperatures and explore the relationship between ARs and precipitation, including extremes and interannual variability. We found that AR events lead to an increase in local air temperatures for up to one week (by ≈ 1 °C). Interannually, ARs account for 36% of total precipitation, explain 48% of precipitation variability, and make up for 57% of extreme precipitation events. By estimating the heat transfer between winter precipitation and the river ice surface, we conclude that increased precipitation during the coldest period of the year delays river ice breakup dates, while precipitation occurring close to the breakup date has little impact on breakup timing.