Storm Records: Alaska
Every storm the National Weather Service has filed in Alaska: its floods, heat, cold, winter storms, hail, wind, lightning and tornadoes, year by year and county by county, each episode with its narrative.
The worst in Alaska on the map
The deadliest and costliest episodes on record here, colored by kind of event.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The record
- Events
- 9,738
- Deaths
- 100
- Injuries
- 133
- Damage
- $484 million
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
Every year
Tap a year for every episode in it.
Deaths each year
By kind of event
| Kind of event | Events | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High Wind | 3,814 | 0 | 18 | $48 million |
| Blizzard | 1,981 | 7 | 5 | $436,000 |
| Heavy Snow | 1,360 | 5 | 16 | $1.5 million |
| Winter Storm | 769 | 2 | 4 | $237,000 |
| Flood | 497 | 2 | 0 | $287 million |
| Winter Weather | 197 | 5 | 6 | $81,000 |
| Extreme Cold/Wind Chill | 172 | 3 | 0 | |
| Cold/Wind Chill | 157 | 3 | 1 | $256,000 |
| Ice Storm | 128 | 5 | 34 | $2.4 million |
| Coastal Flood | 107 | 4 | 1 | $28 million |
| Avalanche | 81 | 44 | 17 | $889,000 |
| Wildfire | 75 | 0 | 19 | $17 million |
| Frost/Freeze | 69 | 0 | 0 | |
| Storm Surge/Tide | 52 | 0 | 2 | $25 million |
| Flash Flood | 44 | 6 | 0 | $21 million |
| Heavy Rain | 34 | 1 | 0 | $3.9 million |
| Heat | 32 | 1 | 0 | |
| Hail | 28 | 0 | 0 | $15,000 |
| High Surf | 28 | 0 | 0 | $7.3 million |
| Strong Wind | 23 | 0 | 2 | $1.6 million |
| Debris Flow | 21 | 12 | 4 | $37 million |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 15 | 0 | 0 | $556,000 |
| Funnel Cloud | 15 | 0 | 0 | |
| Lightning | 8 | 0 | 4 | $8,000 |
| Dust Devil | 5 | 0 | 0 | $4,000 |
| Astronomical Low Tide | 5 | 0 | 0 | |
| Volcanic Ash | 4 | 0 | 0 | |
| Tornado | 4 | 0 | 0 | |
| Drought | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
| Waterspout | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
| Dense Smoke | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Volcanic Ashfall | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Tsunami | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Seiche | 1 | 0 | 0 | $750,000 |
The deadliest
- Flash Flood and Debris Flow in Alaska, August 18 to 19, 2015A strong front moved through the Panhandle on the morning of Tuesday August 18th. This system had abundant amount of moisture associated with the cold front as the system originated from the North Pacific and was able to tap into tropical moisture.
- Blizzard and Winter Storm in Alaska, November 20 to 21, 2023A hurricane-force 964 mb low lifted out of the North Pacific and into the Gulf of Alaska through the early morning hours of November 20, 2023.
- Avalanche in Alaska, March 21, 1999A tragic avalanche, adjacent to Turnagain Pass on Saturday, took the lives of 6 people. After days of searching by many volunteers, 5 bodies were recovered.
- Blizzard and Ice Storm in Alaska, March 16 to 19, 1999An extremely intense storm moved up toward the extreme Western Aleutians late Tuesday continuing to just south of Adak as a 946mb center 9pm Wednesday.
- Flash Flood in Alaska, May 7 to 11, 2002A breaking ice jam on the Stony River, and the inflow to the Kuskokwim River contributed to significant river rises at Sleetmute and Red Devil by the 7th of May. This resulted in execution of an evacuation plan at Red Devil.
- Winter Storm and Heavy Snow in Alaska, January 26 to 28, 2000A complex low, preceded by a northward moving front through Prince William Sound and the Kenai Peninsula, moved northward through Prince William Sound Wednesday.
- Debris Flows and Flooding in Alaska, December 1 to 5, 2020A large plume of concentrated moisture or Atmospheric River (AR) with an associated low-pressure system moved across the Pacific Ocean and transported tropical moisture from the southwest which impacted Southeast Alaska (SEAK) from December 1st through December 2nd.
- Heavy Snow in Alaska, December 17 to 18, 2000Snow was caused by a cold front aloft, moving across low level arctic air. This event was preceded by an upper elevation/Turnagain Arm wind advisory.This was the second significant snow of 2000 - 2001 winter season.
- Avalanche in Alaska, January 12, 2002Three people were buried by an avalanche while snowmachining on an unsupported cornice. One was dug out of the snow by her husband.
- Avalanche in Alaska, February 3, 2001A group of snowmachiners Saturday triggered an avalanche on a slope south of Eureka, near the east fork of the Matanuska River.
- Avalanche in Alaska, April 1, 20023 men snowshoeing in the mountains adjacent to Eagle River were caught in an avalanche. One escaped.
- Coastal Flood in Alaska, August 1, 2008Event continued from July. A 980 mb low pressure center moved counter-clockwise across the southern Beaufort Sea during 29th through Aug 1st, bringing several periods of west winds 30 to 50 mph across the Arctic Coast of Alaska.
- Blizzard and Winter Storm in Alaska, February 17 to 19, 2009A 970 mb low in the central Bering Sea on the afternoon of the 17th tracked to the southern Chukchi Sea on the afternoon of the 18th, and then along the arctic coast on the 19th. This storm system brought heavy snow and blizzard conditions to much of northern Alaska.
- Cold in Alaska, March 12 to 13, 2015Near record cold temperatures on the night of the 12th and the morning of the 13th resulted in two unrelated fatalities. A 30 YOM died from exposure near the University of Alaska-Fairbanks campus along a bike path.
- Coastal Flood in Alaska, November 8 to 10, 2011A 960 mb low over the southern Aleutians at 0300AKST on the 8th intensified to 945 mb near the Gulf of Anadyr by 2100AKST on the 8th.
- Flooding and High Wind in Alaska, September 14 to 30, 2012A series of strong, wet storm systems hit Southcentral Alaska in mid-September. Each storm followed nearly the same track along the Alaska Peninsula then along the Bering Sea coast, setting up a strong moist fetch into the Southcentral Alaska.
- Flooding and Coastal Flood in Alaska, October 11 to 13, 2025The remnants of Typhoon Halong in the northern Pacific Ocean began approaching the Bering Sea on Saturday, October 11, 2025, as they merged with a deep upper-level low east of Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula.
- Debris Flows in Alaska, August 25, 2024A low-pressure system moved out of the North Pacific Ocean into the Gulf of Alaska and quickly intensified into a 995 MB gale-force storm on the Sunday morning of August 25th, 2024.
- Avalanche in Alaska, January 26, 2000Avalanche was reported at 5.5 mile on the road from the community of Cordova to the airport. The avalanche obliterated 4 homes and 1 warehouse. In one of the homes, two individuals were buried, one recovered after nearly 6 hours, the other deceased.
- High Wind and Cold in Alaska, February 1 to 13, 1999Wind chills as low as 107 degrees below zero continued at Cantwell, in the northern Susitna Valley, briefly improving from the 2nd to the 4th as the cold snap went into its second week.
- Avalanche in Alaska, February 1, 2000Work crews were releasing snow loads when an avalanche occurred. One D6 caterpiller worker was killed when his 35,000 pound D6 was carried about 400 feet into Turnagain Arm. The cab was crushed.
- Blizzard and Avalanche in Alaska, February 1 to 3, 2012A large intense north Pacific storm moved across Kodiak Island into the lower Cook Inlet and south central region of Alaska the afternoon of February 1st.
- Heavy Snow in Alaska, October 12 to 14, 1996The arctic front extended from the southern Copper River Basin into the extreme eastern Kenai Peninsula.
- Heavy Snow in Alaska, April 25 to 26, 2008A stalled cold front over south central Alaska dumped from 14 to 22 inches of snow over the region. This event was the third heaviest one day snowfall for Anchorage.
- Avalanche in Alaska, April 3, 1999Odman Schmalzried, 40, of Wasilla, and friends were snowmachining in the Chugach Mountains south of Eureka Lodge Saturday afternoon, when an avalanche buried him and his snow machine. His body and the snow machine were found Sunday.
The costliest
- Flooding and Coastal Flood in Alaska, October 8 to 12, 2006
- Debris Flows and Flooding in Alaska, December 1 to 5, 2020
- Coastal Flood in Alaska, November 8 to 10, 2011
- Flooding in Alaska, October 23 to 31, 2002
- Flooding in Alaska, August 18 to 24, 2006
- Storm Surge and Heavy Snow in Alaska, October 18 to 20, 2004
- Flooding and High Wind in Alaska, September 14 to 30, 2012
- Flood in Alaska, May 20 to 25, 2015
- Flood in Alaska, May 27 to 31, 2013
- Flash Flood in Alaska, July 10 to 12, 2022
- Flooding and Coastal Flood in Alaska, October 11 to 13, 2025
- Wildfire and High Wind in Alaska, March 12 to 14, 2003
- Wildfire in Alaska, June 2 to 12, 1996
- Flooding in Alaska, May 24 to 31, 2013
- Coastal Flood and High Surf in Alaska, July 29 to 31, 2008
- High Wind in Alaska, August 10 to 11, 2000
- Blizzard and High Wind in Alaska, January 8 to 12, 2005
- Flood in Alaska, May 9 to 12, 2009
- Flood in Alaska, August 5 to 6, 2023
- Flood in Alaska, August 5 to 6, 2024
- Flood in Alaska, May 4 to 7, 2009
- Flood in Alaska, July 23 to 24, 2010
- Flooding in Alaska, September 21 to 27, 2017
- Flood in Alaska, May 12 to 14, 2009
- Flood in Alaska, August 12 to 13, 2025
Counties
Every storm event filed in each county, including the zone-filed ones that covered it.
- Aleutians East Borough7
- Aleutians West Census Area13
- Anchorage Municipality12
- Bethel Census Area20
- Bristol Bay Borough1
- Chugach Census Area3
- City and Borough of Wrangell8
- Copper River Census Area6
- Denali Borough17
- Dillingham Census Area3
- Fairbanks North Star Borough26
- Haines Borough49
- Hoonah-Angoon Census Area57
- Juneau City and Borough40
- Kenai Peninsula Borough4
- Ketchikan Gateway Borough22
- Kodiak Island Borough3
- Kusilvak Census Area29
- Lake and Peninsula Borough2
- Matanuska-Susitna Borough7
- Nome Census Area86
- North Slope Borough116
- Northwest Arctic Borough53
- Petersburg Borough10
- Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area67
- Sitka City and Borough30
- Skagway Municipality39
- Southeast Fairbanks Census Area33
- Yakutat City and Borough20
- Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area49
Counties and zones as filed
The places filed most often, as the offices named them.
| County or zone | Events | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kuskokwim Delta zone | 288 | 6 | 0 | $2.5 million |
| Haines Borough and Lynn Canal zone | 277 | 0 | 0 | $335,000 |
| St Lawrence Is. Bering Strait zone | 277 | 3 | 1 | $602,000 |
| Anchorage Muni to Bird Creek zone | 244 | 5 | 19 | $11 million |
| Pribilof Islands zone | 223 | 5 | 0 | $10 million |
| Wrn P.W. Snd & Kenai Mtns zone | 211 | 2 | 2 | $10 million |
| Juneau Borough and Northern Admiralty Island zone | 210 | 0 | 2 | $1.4 million |
| Western Arctic Coast zone | 208 | 0 | 0 | $7.0 million |
| Taiya Inlet and Klondike Highway zone | 202 | 1 | 26 | $325,000 |
| Nern P.W. Snd zone | 195 | 1 | 0 | $438,000 |
| Alaska Peninsula zone | 187 | 0 | 1 | $405,000 |
| Yukon Delta zone | 181 | 0 | 0 | $865,000 |
| Eastern Chichagof Island zone | 174 | 0 | 0 | $25,000 |
| Eastern Aleutians zone | 174 | 1 | 0 | $2.8 million |
| Aleutian Islands zone | 169 | 0 | 0 | $190,000 |
| Salisbury Sound to Cape Fairweather Coastal Area zone | 164 | 0 | 0 | $63,000 |
| Chukchi Sea Coast zone | 164 | 0 | 0 | $977,000 |
| Dixon Entrance to Cape Decision Coastal Area zone | 157 | 0 | 1 | $385,000 |
| Eastern Beaufort Sea Coast zone | 156 | 2 | 2 | $8.6 million |
| Susitna Valley zone | 154 | 7 | 7 | $2.4 million |
| Central Beaufort Sea Coast zone | 154 | 0 | 0 | |
| Southern Inner Channels zone | 153 | 0 | 0 | $1.3 million |
| Central Gulf Coast zone | 145 | 3 | 2 | $1.2 million |
| Glacier Bay zone | 143 | 0 | 0 | $242,000 |
| Western Alaska Peninsula zone | 143 | 0 | 11 | $375,000 |
| Cape Fairweather to Cape Suckling Coastal Area zone | 143 | 0 | 0 | $1.1 million |
| Cape Decision to Salisbury Sound Coastal Area zone | 135 | 0 | 0 | $704,000 |
| Bristol Bay zone | 135 | 0 | 0 | $1.3 million |
| Western Aleutians zone | 130 | 0 | 0 | $500 |
| Cook Inlet zone | 115 | 9 | 3 | $587,000 |
| Srn Seward Peninsula Coast zone | 115 | 0 | 2 | $41 million |
| Ne. Slopes of the Ern Ak Rng zone | 110 | 2 | 0 | |
| Sern P.W. Snd zone | 105 | 1 | 1 | $91,000 |
| Baldwin Pen. & Selawik Valley zone | 102 | 2 | 1 | $75,000 |
| Inner Channels From Kupreanof Island to Etolin Island zone | 100 | 0 | 3 | $243,000 |
| Misty Fjords zone | 99 | 0 | 0 | $43,000 |
| Denali zone | 96 | 0 | 2 | $5,000 |
| Kodiak Peninsula zone | 87 | 1 | 1 | $4.5 million |
| Kenai Peninsula zone | 87 | 2 | 4 | $11 million |
| St. Lawrence Island-Bering Strait Coast zone | 84 | 0 | 0 | |
| Deltana and Tanana zone | 83 | 0 | 0 | $4.1 million |
| Tanana Valley zone | 80 | 0 | 0 | $1.7 million |
| Matanuska Valley zone | 80 | 9 | 8 | $7.0 million |
| Ern Norton Sound Nulato Hills zone | 80 | 0 | 1 | $4.9 million |
| Bristol Bay Coastal zone | 77 | 0 | 0 | $75,000 |
| Arctic Slope Coastal zone | 76 | 0 | 0 | $7.8 million |
| Middle Tanana Valley zone | 76 | 5 | 8 | $6.4 million |
| Kodiak Island-Eastern Alaska Peninsula zone | 73 | 0 | 0 | $11,000 |
| Copper River Basin zone | 72 | 9 | 4 | $73,000 |
| Lower Kobuk Valley-Northern Seward Peninsula zone | 68 | 0 | 0 | |
| Dixon Entrance to Cape Decision-Coastal Area zone | 65 | 0 | 0 | $38,000 |
| Southern Southeast Alaska Ernest Sound to Dixon Entrance zone | 62 | 0 | 0 | $244,000 |
| Central Aleutians zone | 62 | 0 | 0 | $10,000 |
| Eastern Baranof Island and Southern Admiralty Island zone | 61 | 0 | 0 | $8,000 |
| Nrn & Intr. Seward Peninsula zone | 61 | 0 | 0 | $14,000 |
| Northern Arctic Coast zone | 60 | 0 | 0 | $50,000 |
| Lower Koyukuk Middle Ykn Vlys zone | 58 | 1 | 0 | $632,000 |
| N. Brooks Rng E of Colville R zone | 56 | 0 | 0 | |
| Lower Kobuk & Noatak Valleys zone | 53 | 0 | 1 | |
| Cape Fairweather to Cape Suckling-Coastal Area zone | 52 | 0 | 0 | $104,000 |
| Upr Tanana Vly Fortymile zone | 51 | 0 | 0 | $500,000 |
| Haines Borough and Klukwan zone | 49 | 0 | 0 | |
| Lower Yukon Valley zone | 48 | 0 | 0 | |
| Upper Kobuk and Noatak Vlys zone | 47 | 0 | 0 | $200 |
| Upper Koyukuk Valley zone | 44 | 0 | 0 | $5,000 |
| Wrn Tanana Vly Wrn Yukon Vly zone | 41 | 0 | 0 | $1.5 million |
| City and Borough of Juneau zone | 40 | 0 | 0 | $100,000 |
| Municipality of Skagway zone | 39 | 0 | 0 | |
| Southern Seward Peninsula-Eastern Norton Sound zone | 37 | 0 | 0 | $50,000 |
| Juneau Borough-Admiralty Island-Icy Strait Area zone | 37 | 0 | 0 | |
| S. Slopes of Ern Brooks Range zone | 37 | 0 | 0 | |
| Middle Tanana Valley | 36 | 0 | 1 | $1.4 million |
| Cape Decision to Cape Fairweather-Coastal Area zone | 35 | 0 | 0 | $7,000 |
| Susitna Valley | 35 | 1 | 0 | $43 million |
| Yukon Flats Nearby Uplands zone | 35 | 0 | 0 | $456,000 |
| Bering Strait Coast zone | 32 | 0 | 0 | |
| Juneau Borough | 31 | 0 | 0 | $29 million |
| Prince of Wales Island zone | 29 | 0 | 0 | |
| Lynn Canal-Glacier Bay zone | 28 | 0 | 0 | |
| Kuskokwim Delta | 28 | 0 | 2 | $3.6 million |
| Kenai Peninsula | 28 | 0 | 0 | $17 million |
| Taiya Inlet | 28 | 0 | 0 | $1.8 million |
| Koyukuk-Upper Kobuk Valleys zone | 27 | 0 | 0 | |
| Juneau Borough-Eastern Chichagof-Admiralty Island zone | 26 | 0 | 0 | $213,000 |
| Yukon Delta Coast zone | 24 | 0 | 0 | $205,000 |
| Copper River Basin | 23 | 0 | 0 | $21 million |
| Upr Tanana Vly Fortymile | 23 | 1 | 0 | $14 million |
| Upper Yukon Valley zone | 22 | 0 | 0 | |
| Kuskokwim Valley zone | 22 | 1 | 0 | $3.1 million |
| Ketchikan Gateway Borough zone | 22 | 0 | 0 | |
| Anchorage zone | 22 | 0 | 0 | |
| Northern Lynn Canal zone | 21 | 0 | 0 | $20,000 |
| Annette Island zone | 21 | 0 | 0 | |
| City and Borough of Yakutat zone | 20 | 0 | 0 | |
| Eastern Alaska Range North of Trims Camp zone | 20 | 0 | 0 | |
| N. Brooks Rng Colville Rvr W zone | 19 | 0 | 0 | |
| Anchorage Muni to Bird Creek | 19 | 0 | 2 | $3.6 million |
| Yukon Flats Nearby Uplands | 19 | 0 | 0 | $13 million |
| St. Lawrence Island zone | 19 | 0 | 0 | |
| Wrn P.W. Snd & Kenai Mtns | 18 | 0 | 0 | $5.8 million |
| Deltana and Tanana | 17 | 0 | 0 | $40,000 |
| Southern Seward Peninsula Coast zone | 17 | 0 | 0 | |
| Matanuska Valley | 16 | 0 | 0 | $6.2 million |
| Denali | 15 | 1 | 0 | $120,000 |
| Wrn Tanana Vly Wrn Yukon Vly | 15 | 0 | 0 | $9.0 million |
| Cape Fairweather to Lisianski Strait zone | 15 | 0 | 0 | |
| Baldwin Peninsula zone | 15 | 0 | 0 | $1.2 million |
| Northern Denali Borough zone | 15 | 0 | 0 | |
| North Slopes of Brooks Range zone | 14 | 0 | 0 | |
| Lower Kuskokwim Valley zone | 14 | 0 | 0 | |
| Kivalina and Red Dog Dock zone | 14 | 0 | 0 | $800,000 |
| Lower Kuskokwim Valley | 13 | 0 | 0 | $1.6 million |
| Northeast Prince William Sound zone | 13 | 0 | 0 | |
| White Mountains and High Terrain South of the Yukon River zone | 13 | 0 | 0 | |
| Frederick Sound-Kupreanof-Wrangell Islands to Ernest South zone | 12 | 0 | 0 | |
| Upper Kuskokwim Valley zone | 12 | 0 | 0 | $1.5 million |
| Kuskokwim Delta Coast and Nunivak Island zone | 12 | 1 | 1 | |
| City and Borough of Sitka zone | 11 | 0 | 0 | |
| Central Brooks Range zone | 11 | 0 | 0 | |
| Cook Inlet-Susitna Valley zone | 10 | 0 | 0 | |
| Petersburg Borough zone | 10 | 0 | 0 | |
| Northwest Arctic Coast zone | 10 | 0 | 0 | |
| Western Prince William Sound zone | 10 | 0 | 0 | |
| St. Paul Island zone | 9 | 0 | 0 | |
| Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta zone | 9 | 0 | 0 | |
| Yukon Delta | 9 | 0 | 0 | $1.5 million |
| Nrn & Intr. Seward Peninsula | 9 | 0 | 0 | $745,000 |
| Western Kupreanof Island and Kuiu Island zone | 9 | 0 | 0 | |
| Eastern Norton Sound and Nulato Hills zone | 9 | 0 | 0 | $125,000 |
| Cook Inlet | 8 | 0 | 0 | $76,000 |
| Nern P.W. Snd | 8 | 0 | 0 | $27 million |
| Kuskokwim Valley | 8 | 3 | 0 | $1.2 million |
| City of Hyder zone | 8 | 0 | 0 | |
| City and Borough of Wrangell zone | 8 | 0 | 0 | |
| Lower Yukon Valley | 7 | 0 | 0 | $62,000 |
| Upper Koyukuk Valley | 7 | 0 | 0 | $661,000 |
| Admiralty Island zone | 7 | 0 | 0 | |
| Upper Kobuk Valleys zone | 7 | 0 | 0 | |
| East Turnagain Arm zone | 7 | 0 | 0 | |
| Lower Koyukuk Middle Ykn Vlys | 6 | 0 | 0 | $15 million |
| Central Beaufort Sea Coast | 6 | 0 | 0 | $16 million |
| Middle Yukon Valley zone | 6 | 0 | 0 | $100,000 |
| Delta Junction zone | 6 | 0 | 0 | $5,000 |
| Upper Yukon Valley | 5 | 0 | 9 | $253,000 |
| Cp Fairweather to Cp Suckling | 5 | 0 | 0 | |
| Sitka Coastal | 5 | 6 | 0 | $4.5 million |
| Sern P.W. Snd | 5 | 0 | 0 | $100,000 |
| Upper Kobuk and Noatak Vlys | 5 | 0 | 0 | $25,000 |
| Central Interior zone | 5 | 0 | 0 | |
| Lower Yukon River zone | 5 | 0 | 0 | $100,000 |
Every year
More
Every tornado in AlaskaEvery warning in Alaska since 1986River gauges in AlaskaEvery state
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24.