Haines Borough, Alaska

Borough storm and disaster record · FIPS 02100 · population 2,080 · 2,335 sq mi

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 453 records for Haines Borough, Alaska from 1950 through June 30, 2026, on 433 days; the most frequent are winter storm records (263 records). 453 of them are forecast-zone records, which the National Weather Service files once per zone: a county covered by several zones receives each one, so a single storm can add several records on the same day. The most damaging was the January 22, 1999 high wind ($443,000 in 2025 dollars). FEMA has issued 3 declarations naming the county since 2020, 1 of them for natural hazards; the latest for a natural hazard was “Severe Storm, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides” on February 17, 2021.

The record, 1950 to 2026

Storm records filed for the county each year (2026 to June 30, 2026). Before 1996 NOAA recorded only tornadoes (from 1950), thunderstorm wind and hail (from 1955).

recorded, no damage figure
under $100,000
$100,000 or more
$1 million or more
$10 million or more, or a death
$100 million or more, or 10 deaths
a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
a year with a death
1955: wind and hail recorded from 1955
1996: all 48 event types from 1996

Storm records: 453on 433 days, 1950 to June 30, 2026
Deaths recorded: 011 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars: $1.2Mas filed (scale steps before 1993)
FEMA declarations: 3latest 2021

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026 (file revision 20260918); damage converted to 2025 dollars with the BLS CPI-U. Search the record at NCEI. BLS consumer price index.

What hazards hit Haines Borough most?

The most frequent records are winter storm records: 263 since 1996. 52% of its winter storm records since 1996 fell in December and January. The rank column places the county among Alaska's counties by days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land over each hazard's complete period.

Haines Borough: records by hazard, 1950 to June 30, 2026
Hazard	Records	Days	First, last	Injured	Damage	Rank in state
Winter storms	263	254	1996-2026	0	$185K	3 of 29
High wind and dust storms	163	156	1996-2026	11	$836K	7 of 29
Heat	11	11	1996-1996	0	–	2 of 29
Extreme cold	10	8	1999-2026	0	–	4 of 29
Drought	2	2	1996-1996	0	–	1 of 29
Landslides and avalanches	2	2	1996-2000	0	$80K	8 of 29
Floods	1	1	1996-1996	0	$56K	18 of 29
Wildfires	1	1	2005-2005	0	–	6 of 29

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database (county and forecast-zone records attributed to the county; a zone record shows its own totals on each county it covers). Days: dates with at least one record of the hazard in the county. Ranks: days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer), since 1950 for tornadoes, 1955 for hail and thunderstorm wind, 1996 for the rest.

When was the last damaging storm in Haines Borough?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the November 12, 2000 high wind (2 injuries and $43,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).

Another strong low moved northeast out of the Pacific, crossing Adak at 9 am Sunday with a depth of 951 mbs. The low then moved into the southeast Bering Sea early Monday, finally weakening to a 967 mb center just south of Saint Lawrence Island early Tuesday. Strong southwesterly winds were observed along the back side of the easily 'hurricane force' storm. Gusts of 76 mph were recorded at both Adak and Atka on the back side of this storm Sunday.The front associated with the storm was preceded by very strong south and southeast winds across the Aleutians, the Pribilofs and the Alaska Peninsula Sunday. The front moved to a position from Nunivak Island to just southwest of Chignik late Sunday. By 3 pm Monday, the front had weakened...extending in a broad arc from Norton Sound to near Homer...but still preceded by strong southeast winds in exposed areas. …
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 5161305)

The 12 most recent records kept for Haines Borough
Date	Record	Character	Damage
2026-05-01	Frost/FreezeHaines Borough · forecast zone Haines Borough And Klukwan		–
2026-03-15	Heavy SnowHaines Borough · forecast zone Haines Borough And Klukwan		–
2026-03-04	Winter StormHaines Borough · forecast zone Haines Borough And Klukwan		–
2026-01-14	High WindHaines Borough · forecast zone Haines Borough And Klukwan	53 kt wind	–
2026-01-08	Winter StormHaines Borough · forecast zone Haines Borough And Klukwan		–
2026-01-04	Winter StormHaines Borough · forecast zone Haines Borough And Klukwan		–
2025-11-24	Heavy SnowHaines Borough · forecast zone Haines Borough And Klukwan		–
2025-11-19	Heavy SnowHaines Borough · forecast zone Haines Borough And Klukwan		–
2025-11-09	Heavy SnowHaines Borough · forecast zone Haines Borough And Klukwan		–
2025-09-17	High WindHaines Borough · forecast zone Haines Borough And Klukwan	65 kt wind	–
2025-02-26	Heavy SnowHaines Borough · forecast zone Haines Borough And Klukwan		–
2025-01-29	Winter StormHaines Borough · forecast zone Haines Borough And Klukwan		–

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database; every record of 2025-2026 is listed, earlier ones when they caused deaths, injuries or $250,000 of damage (2025 dollars), and every tornado.

The deadliest and costliest records

Records with deaths or injuries in Haines Borough, most deaths first
Date	Record	Character	Injured	Damage
1999-01-22	High WindHaines Borough and 2 more · forecast zone Western Alaska Peninsula A major weather change, that began Tuesday, January 19th, gained momentum as the days moved ahead to Thursday, January 21st. A moderate 974mb low curved northeast to its position just south of Shemya at 3am Thursday. The front ahead of the low was preceded by brisk east to southeast winds. Brisk southeast winds spread ...		7	$443K
2000-11-12	High WindHaines Borough and 2 more · forecast zone Western Alaska Peninsula Another strong low moved northeast out of the Pacific, crossing Adak at 9 am Sunday with a depth of 951 mbs. The low then moved into the southeast Bering Sea early Monday, finally weakening to a 967 mb center just south of Saint Lawrence Island early Tuesday. Strong southwesterly winds were observed along the back ...	87 kt wind	2	$43K
2000-11-03	High WindHaines Borough and 2 more · forecast zone Western Alaska Peninsula An intense 950 mb low 270 miles south of Amchitka Thursday afternoon was centered 270 miles south of Adak at 9 am Friday...showing little change in intensity. The low then weakened and curved north...centering between Umnak Island and Seguam Island as a 956 mb center 3 am Saturday. This low then dissipated ...	70 kt wind	2	$86K

The costliest records in Haines Borough since 1993, damage in 2025 dollars
Date	Record	Character	Injured	Damage
1999-01-22	High WindHaines Borough and 2 more · forecast zone Western Alaska Peninsula		7	$443K
2000-11-03	High WindHaines Borough and 2 more · forecast zone Western Alaska Peninsula	70 kt wind	2	$86K
2000-11-12	High WindHaines Borough and 2 more · forecast zone Western Alaska Peninsula	87 kt wind	2	$43K

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths and injuries direct and indirect; damage is property plus crops as estimated by the National Weather Service, converted to 2025 dollars.

Is it getting more frequent?

Records per decade for Haines Borough's most frequent hazards. Counts rose everywhere after 1996, when NOAA began recording every event type, so compare decades within a hazard's complete period only (the shaded cells come before it).

Haines Borough: records per decade (the 2020s to June 30, 2026)
Hazard	1950s	1960s	1970s	1980s	1990s	2000s	2010s	2020-26
Winter storms	–	–	–	–	7	74	93	89
High wind and dust storms	–	–	–	–	131	22	6	4
Heat	–	–	–	–	11	0	0	0
Extreme cold	–	–	–	–	1	3	1	5

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records per calendar decade; zone records from the CZ_TYPE field (Z).

What time of year?

52% of its winter storm records since 1996 fell in December and January. The two busiest months are in violet.

The values, month by month

Jan 78 · Feb 57 · Mar 65 · Apr 27 · May 29 · Jun 7 · Jul 3 · Aug 8 · Sep 12 · Oct 14 · Nov 65 · Dec 88 (records).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began.

Federal disaster declarations for Haines Borough

FEMA's register lists 3 declarations that include Haines Borough: 2 major disasters, one emergency and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for biological (2) and mud/landslide (1).

Declarations including Haines Borough, newest first
Declared	Number	Type	Title
2021-02-17	DR-4585	Mud/Landslide	Severe Storm, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides
2020-04-09	DR-4533	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic
2020-03-13	EM-3446	Biological	Covid-19

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), declarations through October 2, 2026; one declaration is counted once however many areas it names. OpenFEMA dataset page.

FEMA's modeled risk for Haines Borough

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Haines Borough Very Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $2.6 million. These are FEMA's model estimates of future loss from 18 hazards, not a count of what happened; they can differ from the record above.

National Risk Index ratings for Haines Borough (December 2025 release), by FEMA's rating, then score
Hazard	Risk rating	Expected annual loss	Modeled frequency
Avalanche	Relatively High	$1.4M	once in about 5 years (modeled)
Landslide	Relatively Moderate	$178K	27 a year (modeled)
Earthquake	Relatively Low	$522K	once in about 24 years (modeled)
Winter Weather	Relatively Low	$57K	28 a year (modeled)
Tsunami	Very Low	$115K	once in about 3 years (modeled)
Volcanic Activity	Very Low	$0	once in about 5,000 years (modeled)
Cold Wave	Very Low	$74K	1.1 a year (modeled)
Wildfire	Very Low	$1K	once in about 72,245 years (modeled)

Source: FEMA National Risk Index, county table, December 2025 release. FEMA's National Risk Index map.

Counties that share a border with Haines Borough

Source: U.S. Census Bureau county adjacency file; NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1950. The Census Bureau's adjacency file.