Alaska extreme cold
Every recorded extreme cold record since 1996 · 22 counties with a record
NOAA's Storm Events Database records 398 extreme cold records in Alaska from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 13 a year since 2000. The deadliest was the March 12, 2015 cold/wind chill in Fairbanks North Star Borough and Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area: 2 deaths. Alaska ranks 35th of 51 states and territories by count and 49th of 50 per square mile.
Extreme cold in Alaska, 1996 to 2026
Cold records per year (NOAA Storm Events); 2026 to June 30, 2026.
- recorded, no damage figure
- under $1 million
- $1 million or more
- $10 million or more
- $100 million or more, or 10 deaths
- $1 billion or more, or 100 deaths
- a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
- a year with a death
- Records
- 3981996 to June 30, 2026
- A year since 2000
- 13average
- Deaths
- 61 injuries
- Damage, 2025 dollars
- $454Kas filed
- Busiest year
- 199959 records
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; deaths and damage as filed, damage in 2025 dollars. Search the record at NCEI.
Are extreme cold records common in Alaska?
Alaska averages about 13 extreme cold records a year since 2000, 35th of 51 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 1999 (59). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Alaska records 7.0 extreme cold records since 1996, 49th of 50 states and territories by that measure.
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1996, per 10,000 square miles of land area (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer; places under 1,000 square miles not ranked). Damage colours: Storm Events damage, 2025 dollars.
Which counties in Alaska have the most extreme cold records?
Per square mile, Skagway Municipality leads Alaska: 8 days with a extreme cold record since 1996, 18.1 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, North Slope Borough has the most cold records (144 since 1996); large counties collect more records simply by covering more ground, so the ranking counts days with a record per unit of area (a storm filed for several forecast zones adds several records but one day).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, days with a record in the county since 1996 per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer); in brackets, the count of records.
When is the cold season in Alaska?
55% of its extreme cold records since 1996 fell in January and February. The busiest month is January (121 records).
The values, month by month
Jan 121 · Feb 99 · Mar 60 · Apr 0 · May 26 · Jun 0 · Jul 0 · Aug 1 · Sep 11 · Oct 32 · Nov 6 · Dec 42 (records).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1996.
What were the deadliest extreme cold records in Alaska?
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-03-12 | Cold/Wind ChillFairbanks North Star Borough and Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area · forecast zone Middle Tanana Valley Near 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. Another man whose age is unknown, also died from exposure on the east side of Fairbanks, his body ... | 2 | 0 | – | |
| 1999-02-03 | Cold/Wind ChillValdez-Cordova Census Area and Yakutat City and Borough · forecast zone Central Gulf Coast Wind 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. Around Anchorage, temperatures remained below 20 degrees from the 25th of January until the 13th of February. Temperatures on the ... | 1 | 1 | $443K | |
| 2022-12-18 | Extreme Cold/Wind ChillFairbanks North Star Borough and Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area · forecast zone Middle Tanana Valley Temperatures fell into the 30s below zero in Fairbanks. for an extended period of time between the 18th and the 23rd. The high temperature on both the 20th and 21st failed to climb above -30 degrees (F) at the Fairbanks airport. The coldest official temperature at the Fairbanks airport during this period was -39 ... | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 2000-03-23 | Extreme Cold/Wind ChillKuskokwim Delta · forecast zone Kuskokwim Delta A Napakiak man, Herman Motgin, age 31, died of hypothyermia Friday after he was found next to his snowmachine on the trail between Bethel and Napakiak, a short distance away. He was discovered in a hypothermic state on the trail about three miles north of Napakiak shortly after 8 am Friday, still breathing. He was ... | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 2000-01-29 | Extreme Cold/Wind ChillKuskokwim Delta · forecast zone Kuskokwim Delta A hypothermia related death was reported near Alakanuk (just north of Bethel). Outside air temperatures were around -25 F. Alcohol may have been a factor. | 1 | 0 | – |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths direct and indirect, as filed by the National Weather Service, summed over each storm (one episode, or one named storm filed by several offices). Storm names from the titles of FEMA declarations that name the storm's counties.
The costliest extreme cold records in Alaska
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999-02-03 | Cold/Wind ChillValdez-Cordova Census Area and Yakutat City and Borough · forecast zone Central Gulf Coast | 1 | 1 | $443K |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, in 2025 dollars.
Are extreme cold records becoming more frequent in Alaska?
Alaska's count per decade against the whole country's, and its share. NOAA recorded every event type only from 1996, so earlier decades are not comparable; the share of the national total is the fairer comparison across decades.
| Decade | Alaska | United States | Alaska's share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996-99 | 83 | 5,539 | 1.5% |
| 2000s | 165 | 14,792 | 1.1% |
| 2010s | 86 | 18,162 | 0.5% |
| 2020-26 | 64 | 15,329 | 0.4% |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.
The most recent extreme cold records in Alaska
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-05-01 | Frost/FreezeHaines Borough · forecast zone Haines Borough And Klukwan | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-02-10 | Extreme Cold/Wind ChillYukon-Koyukuk Census Area · forecast zone South Slopes Of The Eastern Brooks Range | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-02-08 | Extreme Cold/Wind ChillNorth Slope Borough · forecast zone Western Arctic Plains | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-01-02 | Cold/Wind ChillValdez-Cordova Census Area · forecast zone Southern Copper Valley | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-01-02 | Cold/Wind ChillValdez-Cordova Census Area · forecast zone Central Copper Valley | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-12-24 | Extreme Cold/Wind ChillSoutheast Fairbanks Census Area · forecast zone Fortymile Country | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-02-01 | Extreme Cold/Wind ChillSkagway Municipality · forecast zone Municipality Of Skagway | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-01-30 | Extreme Cold/Wind ChillNorthwest Arctic Borough · forecast zone Lower Kobuk Valley | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-01-02 | Extreme Cold/Wind ChillSkagway Municipality · forecast zone Municipality Of Skagway | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2022-12-18 | Extreme Cold/Wind ChillFairbanks North Star Borough and Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area · forecast zone Middle Tanana Valley | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 2015-03-12 | Cold/Wind ChillFairbanks North Star Borough and Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area · forecast zone Middle Tanana Valley | 2 | 0 | – | |
| 2000-03-23 | Extreme Cold/Wind ChillKuskokwim Delta · forecast zone Kuskokwim Delta | 1 | 0 | – |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; the newest months are revised by NCEI as reports arrive. Search the record at NCEI.
Federal disaster declarations for extreme cold records in Alaska
FEMA has declared 4 disasters in Alaska for extreme cold, counting its incident type and declarations that name freez in the title (FEMA files most storm disasters under Severe Storm); 4 were major disasters, the latest on April 26, 2003.
| Declared | Number | Title | Areas named |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003-04-26 | DR-1461 | Severe Winter Storm, Including High Winds and Freezing Temperatures | 3 |
| 1989-05-10 | DR-826 | Severe Freezing | 12 |
| 1975-12-18 | DR-493 | Fire & Freezing | 1 |
| 1974-06-24 | DR-444 | Freeze in Spawning Areas of Red Salmon | 2 |
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), through October 2, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.
Next
- Skagway Municipality: the county's whole recordThe Alaska county with the most extreme cold records per square mile
- Extreme cold across the United StatesEvery state ranked, by year and month
- Every natural hazard in AlaskaTornadoes, floods, storms, heat and the federal declarations
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- High wind and dust storms in Alaska3,842 records
- Floods in Alaska648 records