Alaska winter storms

Every recorded winter storm record since 1996 · 28 counties with a record

NOAA's Storm Events Database records 4,435 winter storm records in Alaska from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 156 a year since 2000. The deadliest was the March 18, 1999 ice storm in Hoonah-Angoon Census Area and Sitka City and Borough: 5 deaths. Alaska ranks 31st of 51 states and territories by count and 49th of 50 per square mile.

Winter storms in Alaska, 1996 to 2026

Winter storm 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: 4,4351996 to June 30, 2026
A year since 2000: 156average
Deaths: 2465 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars: $6.6Mas filed
Busiest year: 2009295 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 winter storm records common in Alaska?

Alaska averages about 156 winter storm records a year since 2000, 31st of 51 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2009 (295). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Alaska records 78 winter storm 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 winter storm records?

Per square mile, Skagway Municipality leads Alaska: 153 days with a winter storm record since 1996, 345.4 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, North Slope Borough has the most winter storm records (648 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).

Skagway Municipality 345.4 (161)
Juneau City and Borough 114.3 (363)
Haines Borough 108.8 (263)
Anchorage Municipality 94.9 (199)
Sitka City and Borough 68.3 (281)
Wrangell City and Borough 57.5 (198)
Petersburg Borough 56.9 (197)
Hoonah-Angoon Census Area 48.8 (583)
Aleutians West Census Area 36.9 (185)
Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area 23.2 (165)
Ketchikan Gateway Borough 22.2 (127)
Kodiak Island Borough 18.5 (136)

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 winter storm season in Alaska?

43% of its winter storm records since 1996 fell in January and February. The busiest month is February (994 records).

The values, month by month

Jan 920 · Feb 994 · Mar 608 · Apr 288 · May 33 · Jun 4 · Jul 0 · Aug 3 · Sep 25 · Oct 122 · Nov 583 · Dec 855 (records).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1996.

What were the deadliest winter storm records in Alaska?

Alaska: the storms with the most deaths since 1996
Date	Record	Killed	Injured	Damage
1999-03-18	Ice StormHoonah-Angoon Census Area and Sitka City and Borough · forecast zone Pribilof Islands An extremely intense storm moved up toward the extreme Western Aleutians late Tuesday continuing to just south of Adak as a 946mb center 9pm Wednesday. The low began an eastward turn while starting to very slowly weaken during the next 24 hours...moving to 180 miles south of Cold Bay as a 959mb center at 9 pm ...	5	0	–
2000-01-26	Winter StormCook Inlet · forecast zone Cook Inlet One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places, 2000-01-26 to 2000-01-27; the totals are the episode's. A complex low, preceded by a northward moving front through Prince William Sound and the Kenai Peninsula, moved northward through Prince William Sound Wednesday. On the 'heels' of the low, modified arctic air poured east and southeastward into the Cook Inlet area from the western Alaska range, enhancing snowfall. ...	3	0	$21K
2009-02-18	BlizzardNorthwest Arctic Borough · forecast zone Baldwin Pen. & Selawik Valley A 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. High winds were also observed in the passes of the ...	2	0	–
2000-12-17	Heavy SnowAnchorage Municipality · forecast zone Anchorage Muni To Bird Creek Snow 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. 3- 5 inches reported around Anchorage town, 8 to 12 inches along the upper Anchorage Hillsides and ...	2	0	$86K
2016-10-29	Winter WeatherFairbanks North Star Borough and Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area · forecast zone Middle Tanana Valley Warm air aloft along with light precipitation and below freezing surface temperatures caused light freezing rain during the morning and early afternoon on the 29th in the Fairbanks area, making roads and highways slippery. A traffic accident occurred northeast of Fairbanks on Chena hot springs road when two vehicles ...	1	3	–
2014-10-24	Winter WeatherFairbanks North Star Borough and Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area · forecast zone Middle Tanana Valley After a number of days of temperatures above freezing, a light snowfall and falling temperatures occurred on the 24th in the Fairbanks area, making roads and highways slippery. A traffic accident occurred north of Fairbanks on the Steese Highway at the intersection with Hagelbarger Avenue when two vehicles collided ...	1	1	–
2024-12-04	Winter WeatherMatanuska-Susitna Borough · forecast zone Matanuska Valley The Palmer ASOS Station (PAAQ) reported freezing rain between 6:00 AM to 11:30 AM AKST on December 5th. An NWS employee of the Alaska Region Headquarters reported that Big Lake was receiving a bout of freezing rain at 7:30 AM AKST December 5th. A fatal traffic accident was reported off the Parks Highway with State ...	1	1	–
2001-12-08	BlizzardKenai Peninsula Borough and Kodiak Island Borough · forecast zone Kodiak Peninsula Two Coast Guard crew from the cutter "Firebush" were "...apparently blown off a ridge by strong winds". A request for air support was made from the Alaska State Troopers just after midnight Saturday. An HH-60 attempted a night search, but had to turn back due to whiteout conditions. At first light, Sunday, the HH-60 ...	1	1	–
2001-02-10	BlizzardNome Census Area · forecast zone St Lawrence Is. Bering Strait A storm as low as 961 mb moved north over the Bering Sea on the 10th, filling to 983 mb by the time it reached the western Chukchi Sea on the evening of the 11th. The associated occluded front moved over the west coast of Alaska on the 10th, and offshore of the Arctic Coast the afternoon of the 11th. A small low ...	1	1	–
2012-02-01	BlizzardBethel Census Area and Kusilvak Census Area · forecast zone Kuskokwim Delta A 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. This storm produced high wind and blizzard conditions from the Alaska Peninsula to the Kuskokwim Delta east across the Kenai Peninsula into Prince William Sound. ...	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 winter storm records in Alaska

Alaska: the most damaging storms since 1993, 2025 dollars
Date	Record	Killed	Injured	Damage
2013-11-13	Ice StormFairbanks North Star Borough and Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area · forecast zone Middle Tanana Valley	0	0	$2.5M
1999-12-21	Heavy SnowValdez-Cordova Census Area and Yakutat City and Borough · forecast zone Central Gulf Coast	0	0	$354K
2001-05-02	Heavy SnowAnchorage Municipality · forecast zone Anchorage Muni To Bird Creek	0	0	$300K
2009-02-25	BlizzardBethel Census Area and Kusilvak Census Area · forecast zone Kuskokwim Delta	0	0	$275K
2004-11-02	Heavy SnowAnchorage Municipality · forecast zone Anchorage Muni To Bird Creek	0	12	$156K
2005-01-16	Heavy SnowHoonah-Angoon Census Area and 2 more · forecast zone Juneau Borough And Northern Admiralty Island	0	2	$136K
1996-11-11	Ice StormSkagway Municipality · forecast zone Taiya Inlet And Klondike Highway	0	18	$122K
1996-10-12	Heavy SnowSkagway Municipality · forecast zone Taiya Inlet And Klondike Highway	1	0	$94K

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, in 2025 dollars.

Are winter storm 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.

Winter storms: Alaska and the United States by decade (2020s to June 30, 2026)
Decade	Alaska	United States	Alaska's share
1996-99	235	32,893	0.7%
2000s	1,658	88,805	1.9%
2010s	1,294	103,626	1.2%
2020-26	1,248	62,015	2.0%

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.

The most recent winter storm records in Alaska

The 12 most recent records, to June 30, 2026
Date	Record	Damage
2026-05-01	BlizzardNorth Slope Borough · forecast zone Western Arctic Coast	–
2026-04-23	BlizzardNorth Slope Borough · forecast zone Western Arctic Coast	–
2026-04-22	BlizzardNome Census Area · forecast zone Southern Seward Peninsula Coast	–
2026-04-22	BlizzardNome Census Area · forecast zone Bering Strait Coast	–
2026-04-21	BlizzardBethel Census Area · forecast zone Kuskokwim Delta Coast And Nunivak Island	–
2026-04-21	BlizzardKusilvak Census Area · forecast zone Yukon Delta Coast	–
2026-04-20	BlizzardNorthwest Arctic Borough · forecast zone Kivalina And Red Dog Dock	–
2026-04-19	Winter StormSoutheast Fairbanks Census Area · forecast zone Eastern Alaska Range South Of Trims Camp	–
2026-04-18	BlizzardBethel Census Area · forecast zone Kuskokwim Delta Coast And Nunivak Island	–
2026-04-18	Winter StormKusilvak Census Area · forecast zone Yukon Delta Coast	–
2026-04-12	Heavy SnowSoutheast Fairbanks Census Area · forecast zone Upper Tanana Valley	–
2026-04-12	Heavy SnowSoutheast Fairbanks Census Area · forecast zone Eastern Alaska Range North Of Trims Camp	–

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 winter storm records in Alaska

FEMA has declared 11 disasters in Alaska for winter storm, counting its incident type and declarations that name snow or winter storm or ice storm or blizzard in the title (FEMA files most storm disasters under Severe Storm); 11 were major disasters, the latest on April 7, 2026.

The 12 most recent
Declared	Number	Title	Areas named
2026-04-07	DR-4904	Severe Storm	1
2022-03-24	DR-4648	Severe Winter Storm and Straight-Line Winds	3
2022-03-14	DR-4646	Severe Winter Storm and Straight-Line Winds	1
2011-12-22	DR-4050	Severe Winter Storms and Flooding	5
2006-08-04	DR-1657	Snow Melt and Ice Jam Flooding	3
2005-03-14	DR-1584	Severe Winter Storm	1
2004-11-15	DR-1571	Severe Winter Storm, Tidal Surges and Flooding	6
2003-04-26	DR-1461	Severe Winter Storm, Including High Winds and Freezing Temperatures	3
2002-12-04	DR-1445	Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, Coastal Erosion and Tidal Surge	4
2000-02-17	DR-1316	Severe Winter Storms and Avalanches	14
1991-05-30	DR-909	Heavy Snow, Ice Jams & Flooding	4

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), through October 2, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.