Fairbanks

Population 31,468 (2025)

12 large wildfires have burned within 25 miles of Fairbanks since 1984.

Hazard fingerprint for Fairbanks Tornado: 0th percentile. Tropical: 0th percentile. Wildfire: 89th percentile. Flood: 1th percentile. Hail & wind: 0th percentile. Heat: 0th percentile. Cold: 0th percentile. Winter: 18th percentile. TORTROPFIREFLOODSEVEREHEATCOLDWINTER

Hazard fingerprint Each spoke is this county’s percentile among U.S. counties where that hazard occurs. How it is computed

2026
  • Wildfire burn scars within 25 miles since 198412
  • Major flood years since 1978, Fairbanks North Star Borough2

At a glance

Tornado paths within 25 miles, tropical cyclone tracks within 100 miles and wildfire perimeters within 25 miles of the city centre. Storm events, flood insurance claims and disaster declarations are for Fairbanks North Star Borough. Earthquakes within 50 miles, volcanoes within 100 miles and smoke days are measured from the city centre; river and tide gauges, tsunami and landslide records and the drought index are for Fairbanks North Star Borough.

Large wildfires within 25 mi

12

Largest: Boundary, 2004

Details

Flood insurance claims

244

Fairbanks North Star Borough

$2.6 million paid since 1978

Details

Largest earthquake within 50 mi

7.1magnitude

July 22, 1937, 28.5 miles away

Details

Federal disaster declarations

16

Most recent: Nenana Ridge Complex, 2025

Details

Record high

96°F

June 15, 1969

Details

Record low

−66°F

January 14, 1934

Details

Snowiest season

147.3in

Winter of 1990-91

Tornadoes

No tornado is recorded here in the Storm Prediction Center database, which begins in 1950.

Hurricanes and tropical storms

No tropical storm or hurricane has tracked within 100 miles since records began in 1851.

Wildfire and smoke

12 large fires burned within 25 miles since 1984.

Largest

June 13, 2004

Boundary Fire, 537,728 acres

17.2 miles from the city centre.

Most recent

July 28, 2023

Lost Horse Creek Fire

9,168 acres in total.

Acres burned by large fires within 25 miles, cumulative 1987: 9,6291997: 1,0962004: 545,2272005: 2,0282009: 120,0462012: 49,0102019: 22,1112020: 1,3132021: 1,1532022: 37,6132023: 9,168 798,394 acres 198519901995200020052010201520202025
Running total of acres burned (line) and each year’s acres (bars).

Every large fire

Large wildfires since 1984
Lost Horse Creek202317.79,168
Minto Lakes202224.837,613
Haystack202118.31,153
Clear Creek20209.11,313
Shovel Creek201918.722,111
Dry Creek201210.249,010
Wood River 1200915.0120,046
Lost Horse Creek200521.92,028
Willow Creek200418.57,499
Boundary200417.2537,728
Gold Creek199721.51,096
Eielson198722.89,629
  1. Large fires mapped by the Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity program since 1984: 1,000 acres or more in the West, 500 or more in the East. Prescribed burns are excluded. Acres here are the part of each perimeter inside this place.

Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (USGS and U.S. Forest Service), 1984 to 2026.

Smoke overhead

Smokiest year

2022: 28 days

Heavy smoke on 21 days in 2022, the most of any year.

Last 10 years

13.1 days a year

Medium or heavy smoke, 2016 to 2025.

2025

20 days

Medium or heavy smoke. 2 so far in 2026.

Days with medium or heavy smoke overhead, by year 2011: 3 2012: 2 2013: 6 2014: 3 2015: 12 2016: 0 2017: 3 2018: 2 2019: 27 2020: 2 2021: 13 2022: 28 28 2023: 20 2024: 16 2025: 20 201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Days each year on which a satellite-traced plume of medium or heavy smoke covered the city centre, 2011 to 2025.
  1. A smoke day is a date on which a smoke plume traced by NOAA Hazard Mapping System analysts from satellite imagery covered this place's point (the county's population centre or the city centre). Counts here are of medium or heavy smoke. Since 2018 analysts have often drawn light smoke as one area over most of the continent, so light-smoke counts are not comparable from year to year. The plumes show smoke anywhere in the air above, not air quality at the ground, and smoke hidden by cloud is missed.

NOAA Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, 2011 to 2026, retrieved October 30, 2026.

Floods and flood insurance

244 federal flood insurance claims since 1978, with $2.6 million paid.

Flood insurance figures are for Fairbanks North Star Borough, the county that contains Fairbanks.

Federal flood insurance claims by year 1980: 20 1985: 11 1986: 6 1991: 28 1997: 5 2002: 12 2003: 23 2005: 5 2008: 47 47 2014: 12 2016: 6 2020: 12 198020022016
Claims per year since 1978. Years with fewer than five claims are not shown.

Most claims in one year

2008: 47 claims

$674,000 paid.

2nd most

1991: 28 claims

$125,000 paid.

3rd most

2003: 23 claims

$161,000 paid.

Claims by ZIP code

Flood insurance claims by ZIP code
9970965$1.0 million
9971461$582,000
9970156$426,000
9970545$253,000
997126$211,000
5$11,000

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026. NOAA Storm Events through 2026.

River crests

River gauges in Fairbanks North Star Borough, the county that contains Fairbanks.

Most severe crest

August 16, 1967

Tanana River at Fairbanks, 27.80 ft

3.30 feet above the 24.5 ft flood stage; major flooding by today’s categories.

Most recent moderate or major crest

May 11, 2023

Tanana River at Fairbanks, 26.11 ft

Moderate flooding.

Highest river crests above flood stage
Aug 16, 1967Tanana River at Fairbanks27.80+3.30Major
Aug 13, 1967Little Chena River near Fairbanks31.90+6.90Moderate
Aug 14, 1967Salcha River near Salchaket21.78+6.78Moderate
Aug 23, 1986Salcha River near Salchaket18.67+3.67Moderate
Jun 26, 1994Chena River near Two Rivers23.65+3.65Moderate
Jul 28, 2003Chena River near Two Rivers23.56+3.56Moderate
Jun 20, 2014Salcha River near Salchaket18.38+3.38Moderate
Jun 27, 1995Chena River near Two Rivers22.84+2.84Moderate
Jul 30, 2008Tanana River at Fairbanks26.66+2.16Moderate
Jun 20, 2014Chena River near Two Rivers22.07+2.07Moderate
May 3, 2009Tanana River at Fairbanks26.40+1.90Moderate
Aug 14, 1997Tanana River at Fairbanks26.25+1.75Moderate
May 11, 2023Tanana River at Fairbanks26.11+1.61Moderate
Jun 24, 2020Tanana River at Fairbanks26.10+1.60Moderate
Jul 3, 2014Little Chena River near Fairbanks26.59+1.59Moderate
Jul 29, 2003Little Chena River near Fairbanks26.43+1.43Moderate
May 10, 1972Little Chena River near Fairbanks26.33+1.33Moderate
May 13, 1975Little Chena River near Fairbanks26.06+1.06Moderate
Apr 24, 2020Chena River below Moose Creek Dam near Fairbanks27.51+3.01Minor
Apr 23, 2020Chena River below Hunts Creek near Two Rivers20.17+2.97Minor
Jun 24, 2020Salcha River near Salchaket17.29+2.29Minor
Jun 26, 1989Chena River below Hunts Creek near Two Rivers19.19+1.99Minor
Jul 30, 2008Salcha River near Salchaket16.90+1.90Minor
Jul 29, 2003Chena River below Hunts Creek near Two Rivers19.07+1.87Minor
Jun 4, 1992Chena River below Hunts Creek near Two Rivers19.01+1.81Minor

River gauges

River gauges and their highest listed crests
Chatanika River at Elliot Hwy Bridge near Fox11.2——0
Chatanika River at Steese Hwy Bridge near Chatanika13.513.86 ftJul 28, 20030
Chena River at Fairbanks12.010.78 ftMay 11, 19720
Chena River below Hunts Creek near Two Rivers17.220.17 ftApr 23, 20200
Chena River below Moose Creek Dam near Fairbanks24.527.51 ftApr 24, 20200
Chena River near Two Rivers20.023.65 ftJun 26, 19940
Goldstream Creek near Fairbanks18.0——0
Little Chena River near Fairbanks25.031.90 ftAug 13, 19670
Salcha River near Salchaket15.021.78 ftAug 14, 19670
Tanana River at Fairbanks24.527.80 ftAug 16, 19671
  1. Crests are the highest and the recent crests the National Weather Service lists for each river gauge in the county that has a flood stage, not every flood. Flood categories use each gauge's current flood stages; crests from before levees, dams or channel changes may not be comparable. Crests measured on an old datum are left out of the rankings.

NOAA National Water Prediction Service gauge records, retrieved October 30, 2026.

Drought

NOAA’s county drought index covers the lower 48 states only.

Earthquakes, volcanoes and landslides

53 earthquakes of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles since 1900; the largest was magnitude 7.1 in 1937.

340

Magnitude 3+ within 50 miles since 1973

53

Magnitude 4+ within 50 miles since 1900

11

Magnitude 5+ within 50 miles since 1900

Largest within 50 miles

July 22, 1937

Magnitude 7.1

Central Alaska; 28.5 miles away, 6.2 miles deep.

Most recent, magnitude 3 or more

October 15, 2026

Magnitude 3.0

56 km ENE of Ferry, Alaska; 47.7 miles away.

Earthquakes of magnitude 3 or more within 50 miles, by year 1973: 12 1974: 2 1975: 3 1976: 8 1977: 13 1978: 8 1979: 9 1980: 5 1981: 8 1982: 4 1983: 4 1984: 7 1985: 2 1986: 4 1987: 3 1988: 4 1989: 4 1990: 9 1991: 5 1992: 3 1993: 8 1994: 4 1995: 43 43 1996: 13 1997: 3 1998: 5 1999: 7 2000: 2 2001: 6 2002: 5 2003: 2 2004: 4 2005: 0 2006: 4 2007: 3 2008: 4 2009: 8 2010: 1 2011: 4 2012: 3 2013: 3 2014: 14 2015: 2 2016: 1 2017: 4 2018: 3 2019: 4 2020: 7 2021: 8 2022: 9 2023: 1 2024: 13 2025: 16 19731978198319881993199820032008201320182023
Per year, 1973 to 2025.

Every earthquake of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles

Earthquakes of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles
Aug 20, 20254.242.59.615 km N of Four Mile Road, Alaska
Jan 28, 20244.132.36.64 km SSW of Salcha, Alaska
Jan 19, 20245.331.46.54 km SW of Salcha, Alaska
Dec 7, 20224.430.713.344 km SSW of South Van Horn, Alaska
Nov 17, 20224.026.79.119 km WSW of Salcha, Alaska
Sep 18, 20224.547.111.715 km NNW of Four Mile Road, Alaska
Nov 5, 20214.133.15.131 km SW of Salcha, Alaska
Sep 13, 20214.938.62.49 km NW of Harding-Birch Lakes, Alaska
Jul 22, 20214.837.96.111 km NW of Harding-Birch Lakes, Alaska
Apr 11, 20194.545.812.415 km NNW of Four Mile Road, Alaska
Oct 23, 20145.046.712.514 km E of Minto, Alaska
Oct 20, 20144.946.08.114 km E of Minto, Alaska
Aug 31, 20144.146.610.314 km E of Minto, Alaska
Aug 30, 20145.246.010.314 km E of Minto, Alaska
Sep 12, 20074.56.90.64 km ESE of Badger, Alaska
Feb 17, 20074.740.78.541 km SW of Salcha, Alaska
Mar 25, 20014.649.213.8Central Alaska
Oct 16, 19954.133.88.136 km E of Minto, Alaska
Oct 12, 19954.136.26.437 km E of Minto, Alaska
Oct 6, 19954.033.710.735 km E of Minto, Alaska
Oct 5, 19954.333.47.337 km E of Minto, Alaska
Oct 5, 19956.035.35.736 km E of Minto, Alaska
Sep 21, 19954.140.211.226 km SE of Minto, Alaska
Aug 25, 19954.523.68.626 km SSW of Ester, Alaska
Dec 29, 19934.636.15.210 km S of Salcha, Alaska
Jan 17, 19934.245.610.622 km SSE of Minto, Alaska
Mar 10, 19914.344.310.128 km N of Four Mile Road, Alaska
Jan 16, 19904.040.320.538 km E of Anderson, Alaska
Jan 12, 19904.538.112.029 km SE of Minto, Alaska
Jan 7, 19904.936.012.422 km NNE of Four Mile Road, Alaska
Jan 7, 19904.944.312.516 km SE of Minto, Alaska
Oct 13, 19884.136.820.511 km SSE of Salcha, Alaska
Sep 7, 19874.311.514.512 km WNW of Farmers Loop, Alaska
Apr 20, 19864.130.520.532 km W of Ester, Alaska
Aug 23, 19844.121.89.829 km SSW of South Van Horn, Alaska
Apr 22, 19844.231.59.333 km N of Pleasant Valley, Alaska
Apr 15, 19834.33.76.25 km N of Badger, Alaska
Dec 30, 19814.923.214.931 km SSW of South Van Horn, Alaska
Feb 24, 19814.443.514.324 km SSE of Minto, Alaska
Feb 22, 19794.311.814.911 km NW of Farmers Loop, Alaska
Sep 17, 19774.06.612.45 km ENE of Badger, Alaska
Jul 11, 19774.522.28.715 km SW of Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska
Apr 23, 19774.044.322.435 km ENE of Pleasant Valley, Alaska
Dec 14, 19764.143.01.226 km ENE of Minto, Alaska
Apr 16, 19764.019.820.515 km WNW of Ester, Alaska
Jun 17, 19734.028.118.029 km NNW of Pleasant Valley, Alaska
Aug 13, 19705.38.712.26 km NW of Farmers Loop, Alaska
Jun 23, 19675.11.96.35 km NNW of Badger, Alaska
Jun 21, 19675.59.18.510 km SSW of Badger, Alaska
Jun 21, 19675.710.96.215 km SSW of Badger, Alaska
Jun 21, 19675.54.58.33 km ESE of Farmers Loop, Alaska
Jul 22, 19377.128.56.2Central Alaska
Jul 3, 19296.039.412.439 km SW of Salcha, Alaska
  1. Earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or more in the USGS Comprehensive Catalog since 1900. Within 50 miles means the epicentre lies within 50 miles of the city centre.
  2. Small earthquakes were under-recorded before the modern seismic networks of the 1970s and are still missed in remote areas, so early decades read low. Magnitudes are as the catalogue reports them and mix scales (moment, local and body-wave).

USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog, 1900 to present, retrieved October 30, 2026.

Volcanoes within 100 miles

Volcanoes within 100 miles
Buzzard Creek57.7Low2,723
  1. U.S. volcanoes within 100 miles, from the USGS Volcano Hazards Program. The threat category is the USGS 2018 National Volcanic Threat Assessment, which ranks volcanoes by how hazardous their past eruptions were and how many people and how much infrastructure lie near them. It is not a forecast of eruption.

USGS Volcano Hazards Program, retrieved October 30, 2026.

Mapped landslides

Landslides mapped in Fairbanks North Star Borough.

10

Landslides mapped, probable or better

10

With a recorded date

1

Source inventory

Mapped by AK DOT (10).

  1. Landslides mapped in the USGS compilation of landslide inventories across the United States (version 3.0, 2025), rated probable or better. The compilation joins inventories made by federal and state agencies for different purposes and areas, so the number mapped in a county reflects how closely it has been surveyed as much as how often its slopes fail. An area with few records may simply not have been mapped. Deaths are as recorded in the inventories; a slide listed in two inventories is counted once.

USGS Landslide Inventories across the United States, version 3.0, retrieved October 27, 2026.

Severe weather and other events

26 events in the National Weather Service record for Fairbanks North Star Borough, 26 of them since 1996.

0

Hail reports, 1 inch or larger

0

Hail, 2 inches or larger

0

Damaging gusts, 58 mph+

26

Winter weather events since 1996

0

Heat events since 1996

0

Cold events since 1996

  1. Storm Events records before 1996 cover only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail. Damage figures are as reported by the National Weather Service at the time, not adjusted for inflation.

NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, 1950 to 2026, issued October 26, 2026.

Weather records

From Fairbanks International Airport, 7 miles from the city centre, with records from 1929.

All-time high
96°FJun 15, 1969
All-time low
−66°FJan 14, 1934
Warmest night
70°FJun 25, 2013
Coldest day
−56°F2 times, most recently Jan 15, 1934
Wettest day
3.42 inAug 12, 1967
Snowiest day
16.0 inFeb 11, 1966
Hottest year
2019mean 32.6°F
Coldest year
1956mean 21.3°F
Wettest year
202118.74 in
Driest year
19575.55 in
Snowiest season
147.3 in1990-91
Average monthly high and low temperature and precipitation, last 30 years, Fairbanks International Airport 32°F 0° -17° 0.5 Jan 12° -11° 0.7 Feb 24° -4° 0.3 Mar 44° 21° 0.4 Apr 62° 39° 0.6 May 72° 51° 1.3 Jun 72° 53° 2.4 Jul 66° 48° 2.3 Aug 55° 37° 1.4 Sep 34° 20° 0.9 Oct 13° -3° 0.7 Nov 4° -13° 0.8 Dec Precipitation, inches
Average daily high and low by month, and average monthly precipitation, over the last 30 years.
Nights at or below freezing per year 1976: 217 1977: 215 1978: 212 1979: 219 1980: 223 1981: 215 1982: 218 1983: 213 1984: 231 1985: 226 1986: 223 1987: 221 1988: 214 1989: 214 1990: 215 1991: 222 1992: 252 252 1993: 215 1994: 230 1995: 211 1996: 238 1997: 221 1998: 220 1999: 224 2000: 231 2001: 224 2002: 219 2003: 223 2004: 235 2005: 210 2006: 220 2007: 223 2008: 223 2009: 212 2010: 216 2011: 225 2012: 226 2013: 232 2014: 219 2015: 222 2016: 215 2017: 210 2018: 221 2019: 209 2020: 212 2021: 222 2022: 216 2023: 224 2024: 212 2025: 195 19761986199620062016
Nights at or below freezing each complete year, last 50 years. Thirty-year average: 220.0.
Snowfall by winter 1976: 59.2 in 1977: 48.1 in 1978: 65.7 in 1979: 41.1 in 1980: 43.1 in 1981: 68.4 in 1982: 70.9 in 1983: 66.2 in 1984: 100.9 in 1985: 33.6 in 1986: 39.7 in 1987: 39.9 in 1988: 68.1 in 1989: 78.4 in 1990: 147.3 in 147.3 1991: 98.7 in 1992: 139.1 in 1993: 64.2 in 1994: 81.4 in 1995: 56.2 in 1996: 67.5 in 1997: 45.1 in 1998: 31.0 in 1999: 70.2 in 2000: 56.6 in 2001: 49.1 in 2002: 41.4 in 2003: 62.2 in 2004: 77.7 in 2005: 50.4 in 2006: 28.0 in 2007: 55.6 in 2008: 71.5 in 2009: 24.9 in 2010: 61.4 in 2011: 57.4 in 2012: 68.6 in 2013: 48.9 in 2014: 43.8 in 2015: 60.0 in 2016: 83.7 in 2017: 85.7 in 2018: 57.5 in 2019: 84.6 in 2020: 91.3 in 2021: 95.3 in 2022: 77.7 in 2023: 64.1 in 2024: 69.2 in 2025: 99.0 in 19761986199620062016
Total snowfall each winter (July to June), last 50 winters.

Median first snow

October 2

Earliest: August 25, 1995

Median last snow

April 23

Latest: June 2, 1931

0 of 96 winters had no measurable snow.

Station Fairbanks International Airport (USW00026411), 430 ft elevation, 7.0 miles from the city centre. Daily records from 1929 to October 26, 2026; 100.0% of days in the last 30 years are complete. Records at a single station can differ from a city’s official threaded record, which may combine several stations.

NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily.

Federal disaster declarations

16 since 1953. The most recent: Nenana Ridge Complex, July 6, 2025.

Declarations for Fairbanks North Star Borough.

Federal disaster declarations
Jul 6, 2025FireNenana Ridge ComplexFire managementFM-5597-AK
Jun 23, 2025FireHimalaya Road FireFire managementFM-5596-AK
Aug 3, 2023FireLost Horse Creek FireFire managementFM-5473-AK
Mar 24, 2022Severe StormSevere Winter Storm and Straight-Line WindsMajor disasterDR-4648-AK
Apr 9, 2020BiologicalCovid-19 PandemicMajor disasterDR-4533-AK
Mar 13, 2020BiologicalCovid-19EmergencyEM-3446-AK
Jun 28, 2019FireShovel Creek FireFire managementFM-5282-AK
Jan 23, 2014Severe StormSevere Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and FloodingMajor disasterDR-4162-AK
May 22, 2011FireMoose Mountain FireFire managementFM-2909-AK
Sep 26, 2008Severe StormSevere Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and MudslidesMajor disasterDR-1796-AK
Jul 1, 2004FireBoundary FireFire managementFM-2525-AK
Nov 8, 2002EarthquakeEarthquakeMajor disasterDR-1440-AK
Jun 26, 2002FloodFloodingMajor disasterDR-1423-AK
Feb 17, 2000Severe StormSevere Winter Storms and AvalanchesMajor disasterDR-1316-AK
May 30, 1991SnowstormHeavy Snow, Ice Jams & FloodingMajor disasterDR-909-AK
May 10, 1989FreezingSevere FreezingMajor disasterDR-826-AK

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries, retrieved October 30, 2026. Statewide declarations are not listed.

Sources and vintage

Every number on this page comes from these public records.

  • Tornadoes NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, through 2025.
  • Tropical cyclones NOAA National Hurricane Center HURDAT2 (Atlantic; Northeast and Central Pacific), through 2025.
  • Wildfire USGS/USFS Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity, through 2026.
  • Storm events NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, through 2026.
  • Flood insurance OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026.
  • Declarations OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2, retrieved October 30, 2026.
  • Weather records NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily, station USW00026411.
  • River crests NOAA National Weather Service, National Water Prediction Service river gauges, retrieved October 30, 2026.
  • Drought NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, through September 2026.
  • Smoke NOAA NESDIS Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, retrieved October 30, 2026.
  • Volcanoes USGS Volcano Hazards Program, U.S. volcanoes and 2018 threat assessment.
  • Landslides USGS Landslide Inventories across the United States, version 3.0 (2025).
  • Earthquakes USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog (ComCat), retrieved October 30, 2026.

Joins, thresholds and known limits are set out in the methodology. Found an error? Report it. Page built October 30, 2026.