Sitka City and Borough

Smoke overhead

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.

Claims by ZIP code

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

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.

Every earthquake of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles

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

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

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

Mapped by USDA-FS AK Tongass (3,836), AK DOT (52), NASA (8), USGS Seismogenic Mass Movements (1).

Deadly landslides

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.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. May 9, 2009Flood$7.2 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The breakup front stopped just downstream of Stevens Village during the late morning hours on the 9th, and solid ice was in place where the river stops braiding and entering the canyon below Stevens Village. Due to the extreme flooding that was experienced upriver in Eagle on May 4-6, 2009, nearly the entire village was evacuated by plane to Fairbanks prior to the onset of the flood. The water levels rose over 20 feet during the night of the 8th into the morning of the 9th. Water levels continued to rise rapidly during the afternoon of the 9th, and by approximately 5 pm the road along the river at Stevens Village began to flood. The water levels continued to rise during the…

2. May 7, 2009Flood$1.9 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A large volume of water and a considerable amount of ice moved down river after the historic flooding at Eagle and moderate flooding at Circle. A 35 mile long ice run that moved by Circle during the evening of the 6th, diminished to a 20 mile long ice run at it passed Fort Yukon. The water levels rose rapidly at Fort Yukon during the late evening of the 7th, and several streets were flooded and people were evacuated from the low lying areas that were flooding. The flooding became more severe overnight as water began to inundate portions of the village with water several feet deep in some homes and low lying areas near the river. About one half of the village flooded and the main…

3. May 19, 2013Flood$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   An ice jam released upstream of Circle City and sent a surge of water and ice through the city during the 19th, causing major flooding by inundating the city with 5 to 8 feet of water. Most structures were flooded except for the school which was slightly more elevated. All residents were evacuated to higher ground. The area upstream from the boat launch on the slough was most affected as the water levels brought a considerable amount of ice right into the homes in that area. Elsewhere, the main effects were water damage. One vehicle carrying village elders tried to drive through the flooded street to safety and went off of the road into the ditch. They were rescued in the bucket…

4. May 6, 2009Flood$1.4 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A large volume of water and a considerable amount of ice moved down river after the historic flooding at Eagle. A 35 mile long ice run started to move by Circle during the evening of the 6th and jammed about 10 miles downstream of Circle. This caused water and ice to back into the channel in front of Circle. The water crested during the early morning hours on the 7th, and then began to drop as the ice jam broke downriver. This led to moderate flooding in Circle. Chunks of ice came into town and damaged a few buildings along the riverbank. The store in town had about 20 inches of water at the highest point, but some homes closer to the Yukon River were flooded with water several…

5. May 6, 2009Flood$715,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   An ice jam below the village of Chalkyitsik caused water to back up in the Black river and caused minor flooding in the village on May 6th. There were a total of 10 homes that had minor flooding, and many yards were submerged by the flood waters.

6. May 20, 2013Flood$300,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   On the 20th a surge of water and ice from the upstream river ice breakup moved to near Fort Yukon causing flooding of low-lying areas. A large sheet of ice became stuck 12 miles upstream of Fort Yukon causing widespread flooding of low-lying areas to persist. This affected the ball field, the old tank farm, the area surrounding the tribal hall, several homes, and one of several access roads to the airport. Around midnight on the 21st, the ice jam partially released though river levels did not rise significantly in town as a result. Later on the 22nd river levels began to slowly fall and by the morning of the 23rd levels were below flood stage. Damage amounts are estimated, and…

7. Jul 8, 2008Flash Flood$2,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rains clogged the culverts just east of Central, pushing the culverts up through the road between mile 138 and 139.5.

8. May 6, 2014Flood$1,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   An ice jam formed downstream of Circle City on the 5th and remained in place on the 6th while flowing water continued to be impounded behind the jam. This water backed up and flooded portions of the village beginning in the morning of the 6th. Water entered the basements of several residences and in the fire hall...up to one foot of water entered the General Store. The State of Alaska DOT road to the airport was overtopped during the flooding. The ice jam released in the mid-afternoon of the 6th and water levels began to slowly fall through the remainder of the afternoon and evening.

9. Jun 12, 2015Dust Devil$1,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   During the afternoon of June 12th, a dust devil developed in Venetie and damaged the roof of one home, throwing debris and estimated 2000 ft in the air, according to a resident. Estimated damage to roofing materials is $1000. Track indicated is a guesstimate.

10. May 20, 2015Flood$300
    National Weather Service narrative

    High river levels due to increasing snowmelt occurred at Fort Yukon from the Porcupine River from May 20th to 25th. Water rose enough to flood a portion of the Sucker River Road. Other low lying areas received flooding, but no structures were impacted, nor were other roads in town. The rapid snowmelt occurred due to above seasonal warming over eastern Alaska. Damage estimate is a guess on the coast of gravel used to repair the Sucker River Road.

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.

All-time high

88°F2 times, most recently Jul 31, 2020

All-time low

−1°F2 times, most recently Feb 17, 1948

Warmest night

61°F2 times, most recently Sep 10, 2023

Coldest day

6°F2 times, most recently Jan 8, 1975

Wettest day

6.17 inSep 8, 1948

Snowiest day

15.0 inDec 17, 1961

Hottest year

2016mean 48.6°F

Coldest year

1955mean 42.1°F

Wettest year

1961122.96 in

Driest year

195050.66 in

Snowiest season

91.6 in1975-76

Station Sitka Airport (USW00025333), 20 ft elevation, 1.6 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1944 to October 26, 2026; 99.3% 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.

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.

Neighbouring counties

• 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 USW00025333.
• 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.