Haines Borough

Population 2,068 (2025) 2,335 sq mi

Haines Borough has 49 weather events in the National Weather Service record since 1950.

Hazard fingerprint for Haines Borough Tornado: 0th percentile. Tropical: 0th percentile. Wildfire: 0th percentile. Flood: 0th percentile. Hail & wind: 0th percentile. Heat: 0th percentile. Cold: 28th percentile. Winter: 29th percentile. TORTROPFIREFLOODSEVEREHEATCOLDWINTER

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

At a glance

The record for Haines Borough in eight numbers. Each links to its section below.

Largest earthquake within 50 mi

7.8magnitude

July 9, 1958, 47.7 miles away

Details

Federal disaster declarations

3

Most recent: Severe Storm, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides, 2021

Details

Record high

92°F

July 12, 1915

Details

Record low

−16°F

February 2, 1947

Details

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

No large wildfire has been mapped here since satellite mapping began in 1984.

Smoke overhead

Smokiest year

2019: 16 days

Heavy smoke on 6 days in 2019, the most of any year.

Last 10 years

4.7 days a year

Medium or heavy smoke, 2016 to 2025.

2025

4 days

Medium or heavy smoke. 5 so far in 2026.

Days with medium or heavy smoke overhead, by year 2011: 0 2012: 0 2013: 2 2014: 0 2015: 2 2016: 0 2017: 0 2018: 2 2019: 16 16 2020: 0 2021: 2 2022: 3 2023: 15 2024: 5 2025: 4 201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Days each year on which a satellite-traced plume of medium or heavy smoke covered the county’s population 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

No federal flood insurance claims are recorded for this county.

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

River crests

Most severe crest

June 29, 2021

Chilkat River near Klukwan, 128.18 ft

2.18 feet above the 126.0 ft flood stage; minor flooding by today’s categories.

Highest river crests above flood stage
Jun 29, 2021Chilkat River near Klukwan128.18+2.18Minor
Jul 25, 2024Chilkat River near Klukwan128.06+2.06Minor
Oct 2, 2022Chilkat River near Klukwan127.89+1.89Minor
Sep 10, 2018Chilkat River near Klukwan127.80+1.80Minor
Sep 8, 2017Chilkat River near Klukwan127.80+1.80Minor
Oct 14, 2022Chilkat River near Klukwan127.67+1.67Minor
Jul 5, 2014Chilkat River near Klukwan127.67+1.67Minor
Jun 22, 2025Chilkat River near Klukwan127.46+1.46Minor
Jun 27, 2013Chilkat River near Klukwan127.36+1.36Minor
Sep 27, 2022Chilkat River near Klukwan127.35+1.35Minor
Jun 7, 2022Chilkat River near Klukwan127.24+1.24Minor
Jul 3, 2019Chilkat River near Klukwan127.20+1.20Minor
Aug 18, 2022Chilkat River near Klukwan127.16+1.16Minor
Jul 29, 2024Chilkat River near Klukwan127.07+1.07Minor
Jun 29, 2022Chilkat River near Klukwan127.07+1.07Minor
Sep 4, 2022Chilkat River near Klukwan126.97+0.97Minor
Jul 16, 2024Chilkat River near Klukwan126.89+0.89Minor
Oct 20, 2022Chilkat River near Klukwan126.84+0.84Minor
Jun 20, 2024Chilkat River near Klukwan126.70+0.70Minor
Jun 29, 2023Chilkat River near Klukwan126.69+0.69Minor
May 24, 2015Chilkat River near Klukwan126.63+0.63Minor
Jun 21, 2020Chilkat River near Klukwan126.49+0.49Minor
Jul 19, 2016Chilkat River near Klukwan126.42+0.42Minor
Oct 13, 2023Chilkat River near Klukwan126.42+0.42Minor
Aug 22, 2024Chilkat River near Klukwan126.29+0.29Minor

River gauges

River gauges and their highest listed crests
Chilkat River near Klukwan126.0128.18 ftJun 29, 20210
  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, tsunamis and landslides

79 earthquakes of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles since 1900; the largest was magnitude 7.8 in 1958.

51

Magnitude 2.5+ inside the county since 1973

421

Magnitude 3+ within 50 miles since 1973

79

Magnitude 4+ within 50 miles since 1900

21

Magnitude 5+ within 50 miles since 1900

Largest within 50 miles

July 9, 1958

Magnitude 7.8

The 1958 Lituya Bay, Alaska Earthquake and Tsunami; 47.7 miles away, 6.2 miles deep.

Most recent, magnitude 3 or more

August 29, 2026

Magnitude 3.3

78 km SW of Covenant Life, Alaska; 29.3 miles away.

Earthquakes of magnitude 3 or more within 50 miles, by year 1973: 1 1974: 3 1975: 0 1976: 0 1977: 1 1978: 0 1979: 1 1980: 3 1981: 2 1982: 2 1983: 0 1984: 2 1985: 3 1986: 0 1987: 5 1988: 3 1989: 9 1990: 12 1991: 9 1992: 4 1993: 2 1994: 7 1995: 1 1996: 4 1997: 6 1998: 10 1999: 5 2000: 2 2001: 2 2002: 0 2003: 3 2004: 4 2005: 3 2006: 8 2007: 13 2008: 8 2009: 8 2010: 6 2011: 8 2012: 2 2013: 4 2014: 19 2015: 6 2016: 2 2017: 158 158 2018: 15 2019: 12 2020: 8 2021: 8 2022: 2 2023: 8 2024: 5 2025: 7 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
Oct 27, 20235.317.23.755 km SSW of Covenant Life, Alaska
Oct 27, 20235.115.24.550 km SSW of Covenant Life, Alaska
Oct 10, 20224.2Inside1.351 km ESE of Mud Bay, Alaska
Jul 8, 20214.43.54.530 km SSW of Covenant Life, Alaska
Aug 31, 20195.020.46.164 km WSW of Covenant Life, Alaska
Jan 17, 20184.320.26.249 km NW of Mosquito Lake, Alaska
Dec 18, 20174.021.36.250 km NW of Mosquito Lake, Alaska
Sep 16, 20175.023.94.154 km NW of Mosquito Lake, Alaska
Aug 17, 20174.015.17.250 km SSW of Covenant Life, Alaska
Jun 21, 20174.014.62.038 km NW of Mosquito Lake, Alaska
May 3, 20174.017.70.744 km NW of Mosquito Lake, Alaska
May 3, 20174.718.16.245 km NW of Mosquito Lake, Alaska
May 1, 20174.017.36.243 km NW of Mosquito Lake, Alaska
May 1, 20174.115.52.541 km NW of Mosquito Lake, Alaska
May 1, 20174.120.86.2Southeastern Alaska
May 1, 20174.120.76.248 km NW of Mosquito Lake, Alaska
May 1, 20174.914.36.738 km NW of Mosquito Lake, Alaska
May 1, 20175.017.07.643 km NW of Mosquito Lake, Alaska
May 1, 20174.813.56.237 km NW of Mosquito Lake, Alaska
May 1, 20174.013.42.437 km NW of Mosquito Lake, Alaska
May 1, 20175.716.36.242 km NW of Mosquito Lake, Alaska
May 1, 20175.615.62.541 km NW of Mosquito Lake, Alaska
May 1, 20176.320.01.648 km NW of Mosquito Lake, Alaska
May 1, 20175.025.65.057 km NW of Mosquito Lake, Alaska
May 1, 20174.319.22.247 km NW of Mosquito Lake, Alaska
May 1, 20174.321.03.149 km NW of Mosquito Lake, Alaska
May 1, 20176.219.76.247 km NW of Mosquito Lake, Alaska
Nov 16, 20164.642.30.988 km W of Mosquito Lake, Alaska
May 21, 20154.14.59.517 km W of Mosquito Lake, Alaska
Nov 5, 20144.95.23.432 km SSW of Covenant Life, Alaska
Jul 25, 20144.149.76.040 km WNW of Elfin Cove, Alaska
Jun 4, 20145.221.05.063 km SW of Covenant Life, Alaska
May 9, 20144.214.49.639 km NW of Mosquito Lake, Alaska
Jan 8, 20114.04.22.314 km SE of Skagway, Alaska
Dec 9, 20104.64.50.413 km SE of Skagway, Alaska
Jul 2, 20104.0Inside5.625 km WSW of Covenant Life, Alaska
Jun 7, 20095.032.42.966 km NNW of Elfin Cove, Alaska
May 21, 20074.312.43.950 km SW of Covenant Life, Alaska
Mar 5, 20074.012.40.254 km N of Juneau, Alaska
Jan 9, 20075.722.76.259 km WSW of Mosquito Lake, Alaska
Dec 21, 20044.239.10.679 km WNW of Mosquito Lake, Alaska
Aug 3, 20044.74.21.426 km WSW of Covenant Life, Alaska
Apr 1, 19994.032.46.282 km WSW of Covenant Life, Alaska
Jan 4, 19994.1Inside0.218 km SSW of Covenant Life, Alaska
Jul 28, 19984.348.36.2106 km WSW of Mosquito Lake, Alaska
Feb 23, 19974.513.33.145 km NNW of Gustavus, Alaska
Mar 8, 19924.225.86.271 km SW of Covenant Life, Alaska
Mar 8, 19924.218.0-1.956 km SW of Covenant Life, Alaska
Aug 13, 19914.028.8-1.167 km NW of Gustavus, Alaska
Jul 30, 19914.01.50.025 km SSE of Mud Bay, Alaska
Jun 23, 19914.349.30.037 km WNW of Elfin Cove, Alaska
Jun 23, 19915.647.90.034 km WNW of Elfin Cove, Alaska
Dec 10, 19904.05.86.223 km NW of Mosquito Lake, Alaska
Oct 21, 19904.121.216.465 km SW of Covenant Life, Alaska
Jul 11, 19904.01.66.230 km WSW of Covenant Life, Alaska
Jul 11, 19905.5Inside6.227 km WSW of Covenant Life, Alaska
Nov 13, 19894.224.9-1.971 km WSW of Covenant Life, Alaska
Dec 12, 19884.73.46.230 km SSW of Covenant Life, Alaska
Jun 6, 19885.241.66.298 km WSW of Covenant Life, Alaska
Nov 17, 19874.91.28.025 km SSE of Mud Bay, Alaska
Nov 14, 19874.0Inside6.221 km S of Mud Bay, Alaska
Nov 14, 19875.02.03.123 km SSE of Mud Bay, Alaska
Nov 15, 19854.225.39.370 km SW of Covenant Life, Alaska
Sep 14, 19855.99.31.241 km SSW of Covenant Life, Alaska
Aug 10, 19844.113.59.353 km SW of Covenant Life, Alaska
Oct 9, 19824.148.712.265 km SSE of Haines Junction, Canada
Aug 26, 19824.124.79.370 km SW of Covenant Life, Alaska
Jun 21, 19814.413.516.748 km S of Covenant Life, Alaska
Apr 5, 19814.46.911.131 km W of Mosquito Lake, Alaska
Nov 27, 19804.13.520.533 km SW of Covenant Life, Alaska
Oct 30, 19804.013.320.5Southeastern Alaska
Jul 16, 19804.415.79.348 km WSW of Mosquito Lake, Alaska
Apr 15, 19744.23.64.333 km SW of Covenant Life, Alaska
Feb 7, 19744.020.120.563 km WSW of Covenant Life, Alaska
Jan 26, 19744.0Inside18.021 km WSW of Covenant Life, Alaska
Oct 25, 19734.80.520.56 km S of Mud Bay, Alaska
Jul 9, 19587.847.76.2The 1958 Lituya Bay, Alaska Earthquake and Tsunami
Mar 9, 19526.129.56.277 km SW of Covenant Life, Alaska
Jan 17, 19017.131.3—British Columbia-Yukon border, Canada
  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 county boundary (or inside the county).
  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.

Tsunamis

Highest water recorded

Mar 28, 1964

19.0 ft, Haines, AK

From Prince William Sound, AK (magnitude 9.2 earthquake).

On record

4 tsunamis

Since 1899.

Tsunamis recorded here
Mar 28, 1964Prince William Sound, AK, M9.219.020
Sep 24, 1907Skagway, AK, M5.5—10
Sep 10, 1899Yakutat Bay, AK, M8.22.010
Sep 4, 1899Cape Yakataga, AK, M8.21.610
  1. Places where NOAA's Global Historical Tsunami Database records a tsunami's water arriving, with the greatest height it reached above sea level at the time. Only tsunamis NOAA rates probable or definite are counted. Heights from eyewitness accounts and tide gauges are mixed, and older events are less completely recorded.

NOAA NCEI/WDS Global Historical Tsunami Database, retrieved October 30, 2026.

Volcanoes within 100 miles

Volcanoes within 100 miles
Edgecumbe79.3Moderate3,182
  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

1,202

Landslides mapped, probable or better

725

With a recorded date

5

Source inventories

Mapped by AK DOT (722), USDA-FS AK Tongass (475), NASA (2), USGS AK Glacier Bay Slow Moving (2), USGS Seismogenic Mass Movements (1).

Deadly landslides

Landslides with recorded deaths
Dec 3, 2020Landslide/Embankment Failure1AK DOT
  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

49 events in the National Weather Service record, 49 of them since 1996.

0

Hail reports, 1 inch or larger

0

Hail, 2 inches or larger

0

Damaging gusts, 58 mph+

41

Winter weather events since 1996

0

Heat events since 1996

5

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 Haines Airport, 0.8 miles from the county’s population centre, with records from 1911.

All-time high
92°FJul 12, 1915
All-time low
−16°FFeb 2, 1947
Warmest night
69°FJun 3, 1936
Coldest day
−11°FFeb 2, 1947
Wettest day
5.49 inDec 1, 2020
Snowiest day
24.0 in3 times, most recently Nov 17, 1951
Hottest year
2023mean 44.5°F
Coldest year
1933mean 36.9°F
Wettest year
194390.04 in
Driest year
201833.75 in
Average monthly high and low temperature and precipitation, last 30 years, Haines Airport 32°F 31° 21° 5.1 Jan 33° 22° 2.9 Feb 37° 26° 3.0 Mar 48° 34° 2.4 Apr 58° 42° 2.0 May 63° 49° 1.6 Jun 64° 52° 1.7 Jul 63° 51° 3.3 Aug 57° 46° 6.0 Sep 47° 38° 7.4 Oct 35° 27° 5.5 Nov 31° 22° 6.4 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 1999: 117 2000: 128 2001: 120 2002: 143 2003: 141 2004: 115 2005: 106 2006: 154 2007: 159 159 2008: 151 2009: 148 2010: 135 2011: 133 2012: 154 2013: 152 2014: 118 2015: 113 2016: 115 2017: 127 2018: 141 2019: 116 2020: 149 2021: 140 2022: 113 2023: 110 2024: 111 199920092019
Nights at or below freezing each complete year, last 50 years. Thirty-year average: 131.1.

Station Haines Airport (USW00025323), 21 ft elevation, 0.8 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1911 to October 26, 2026; 93.7% 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

3 since 1953. The most recent: Severe Storm, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides, February 17, 2021.

Federal disaster declarations
Feb 17, 2021Mud/LandslideSevere Storm, Flooding, Landslides, and MudslidesMajor disasterDR-4585-AK
Apr 9, 2020BiologicalCovid-19 PandemicMajor disasterDR-4533-AK
Mar 13, 2020BiologicalCovid-19EmergencyEM-3446-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.

How this compares

Where Haines Borough stands among 30 counties in Alaska and 3,143 in the United States.

Ranks
Tornadoes since 19500——
Tornadoes rated F3/EF3 or stronger0——
Tropical cyclones within 50 mi0——
Hurricane-strength passes within 50 mi0——
Wildfire acres since 19840——
Flood insurance claims0——
Flood insurance paid$0——
Disaster declarations316 / 303,124 / 3,143
Flood events since 19960——
Hail and wind events since 1996319 / 303,129 / 3,143
Winter storm events since 1996418 / 302,179 / 3,143
Reported damage since 1996$0——
River crests at major flood stage0——
High tide flooding days a year, last 10 years0.0——
Months in severe drought since 18950——
Medium or heavy smoke days a year, last 10 years4.713 / 303,073 / 3,143
Earthquakes M4+ within 50 mi since 19007920 / 30131 / 3,143
Earthquakes M2.5+ in the county since 19735122 / 30183 / 3,143

Neighbouring counties

Neighbouring counties
Hoonah-Angoon Census Area0000
Juneau City and Borough000102
Skagway Municipality0000

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 USW00025323.
  • 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.
  • Tsunamis NOAA NCEI/WDS Global Historical Tsunami Database.
  • 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.