Skagway Municipality

Population 1,104 (2025) 443 sq mi

Skagway Municipality has 39 weather events in the National Weather Service record since 1950.

Hazard fingerprint for Skagway Municipality Tornado: 0th percentile. Tropical: 0th percentile. Wildfire: 0th percentile. Flood: 0th percentile. Hail & wind: 3th percentile. Heat: 0th percentile. Cold: 16th 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

At a glance

The record for Skagway Municipality in eight numbers. Each links to its section below.

Largest earthquake within 50 mi

7.1magnitude

January 17, 1901, 21.7 miles away

Details

Federal disaster declarations

3

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

Details

Record high

93°F

August 5, 2017

Details

Record low

−9°F

Reached 2 times, most recently January 8, 2009

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

2023: 19 days

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

Last 10 years

5.7 days a year

Medium or heavy smoke, 2016 to 2025.

2025

5 days

Medium or heavy smoke. 6 so far in 2026.

Days with medium or heavy smoke overhead, by year 2011: 0 2012: 0 2013: 3 2014: 0 2015: 2 2016: 0 2017: 0 2018: 3 2019: 17 2020: 0 2021: 3 2022: 5 2023: 19 19 2024: 5 2025: 5 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

October 13, 2022

Taiya River near Skagway, 20.11 ft

3.61 feet above the 16.5 ft flood stage; moderate flooding by today’s categories.

Most recent moderate or major crest

October 13, 2022

Taiya River near Skagway, 20.11 ft

Moderate flooding.

Highest river crests above flood stage
Oct 13, 2022Taiya River near Skagway20.11+3.61Moderate
Jul 23, 2002Taiya River near Skagway19.86+3.36Moderate
Aug 13, 2021Taiya River near Skagway19.64+3.14Moderate
Oct 1, 2022Taiya River near Skagway19.38+2.88Moderate
Sep 8, 2013Taiya River near Skagway18.98+2.48Moderate
Aug 15, 2003Taiya River near Skagway18.91+2.41Moderate
Sep 26, 2022Taiya River near Skagway18.84+2.34Moderate
Sep 27, 1976Taiya River near Skagway18.43+1.93Moderate
Sep 13, 1975Taiya River near Skagway18.35+1.85Moderate
Aug 9, 2018Taiya River near Skagway18.15+1.65Moderate
Sep 30, 2015Taiya River near Skagway17.93+1.43Minor
Aug 12, 2014Taiya River near Skagway17.92+1.42Minor
Oct 8, 2023Taiya River near Skagway17.78+1.28Minor
Sep 7, 2017Taiya River near Skagway17.78+1.28Minor
Aug 17, 2009Taiya River near Skagway17.69+1.19Minor
Sep 12, 1977Taiya River near Skagway17.67+1.17Minor
Sep 21, 2019Taiya River near Skagway17.64+1.14Minor
Aug 15, 2016Taiya River near Skagway17.62+1.12Minor
Sep 27, 2017Taiya River near Skagway17.59+1.09Minor
Aug 17, 2022Taiya River near Skagway17.58+1.08Minor
Aug 6, 1972Taiya River near Skagway17.56+1.06Minor
Jul 28, 2016Taiya River near Skagway17.53+1.03Minor
Aug 2, 1971Taiya River near Skagway17.50+1.00Minor
Jul 7, 2014Taiya River near Skagway17.47+0.97Minor
Jul 16, 2007Taiya River near Skagway17.44+0.94Minor

River gauges

River gauges and their highest listed crests
Skagway River at Skagway26.526.75 ftOct 1, 20220
Taiya Inlet Tide Gauge at Skagway (MLLW datum)26.0——0
Taiya River near Skagway16.520.11 ftOct 13, 20220
West Creek near Skagway25.522.97 ftOct 13, 20220
  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, tsunamis and landslides

56 earthquakes of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles since 1900; the largest was magnitude 7.1 in 1901.

5

Magnitude 2.5+ inside the county since 1973

298

Magnitude 3+ within 50 miles since 1973

56

Magnitude 4+ within 50 miles since 1900

13

Magnitude 5+ within 50 miles since 1900

Largest within 50 miles

January 17, 1901

Magnitude 7.1

British Columbia-Yukon border, Canada; 21.7 miles away.

Most recent, magnitude 3 or more

August 20, 2026

Magnitude 3.1

48 km SSW of Covenant Life, Alaska; 41.7 miles away.

Earthquakes of magnitude 3 or more within 50 miles, by year 1973: 1 1974: 2 1975: 0 1976: 0 1977: 0 1978: 0 1979: 0 1980: 3 1981: 2 1982: 0 1983: 0 1984: 1 1985: 1 1986: 0 1987: 5 1988: 2 1989: 1 1990: 9 1991: 5 1992: 3 1993: 1 1994: 3 1995: 0 1996: 3 1997: 2 1998: 5 1999: 1 2000: 0 2001: 1 2002: 0 2003: 2 2004: 3 2005: 2 2006: 3 2007: 7 2008: 0 2009: 3 2010: 3 2011: 6 2012: 0 2013: 0 2014: 9 2015: 2 2016: 1 2017: 156 156 2018: 13 2019: 6 2020: 5 2021: 8 2022: 2 2023: 6 2024: 3 2025: 4 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, 20235.347.93.755 km SSW of Covenant Life, Alaska
Oct 27, 20235.144.64.550 km SSW of Covenant Life, Alaska
Oct 10, 20224.227.61.351 km ESE of Mud Bay, Alaska
Jul 8, 20214.433.24.530 km SSW of Covenant Life, Alaska
Jan 17, 20184.337.46.249 km NW of Mosquito Lake, Alaska
Dec 18, 20174.036.06.250 km NW of Mosquito Lake, Alaska
Sep 16, 20175.038.44.154 km NW of Mosquito Lake, Alaska
Aug 17, 20174.043.37.250 km SSW of Covenant Life, Alaska
Jun 21, 20174.029.32.038 km NW of Mosquito Lake, Alaska
May 3, 20174.034.40.744 km NW of Mosquito Lake, Alaska
May 3, 20174.733.86.245 km NW of Mosquito Lake, Alaska
May 1, 20174.033.06.243 km NW of Mosquito Lake, Alaska
May 1, 20174.132.62.541 km NW of Mosquito Lake, Alaska
May 1, 20174.135.06.2Southeastern Alaska
May 1, 20174.132.96.248 km NW of Mosquito Lake, Alaska
May 1, 20174.930.16.738 km NW of Mosquito Lake, Alaska
May 1, 20175.032.57.643 km NW of Mosquito Lake, Alaska
May 1, 20174.830.86.237 km NW of Mosquito Lake, Alaska
May 1, 20174.031.12.437 km NW of Mosquito Lake, Alaska
May 1, 20175.733.56.242 km NW of Mosquito Lake, Alaska
May 1, 20175.631.72.541 km NW of Mosquito Lake, Alaska
May 1, 20176.334.81.648 km NW of Mosquito Lake, Alaska
May 1, 20175.040.15.057 km NW of Mosquito Lake, Alaska
May 1, 20174.336.62.247 km NW of Mosquito Lake, Alaska
May 1, 20174.334.33.149 km NW of Mosquito Lake, Alaska
May 1, 20176.235.06.247 km NW of Mosquito Lake, Alaska
May 21, 20154.127.09.517 km W of Mosquito Lake, Alaska
Nov 5, 20144.935.23.432 km SSW of Covenant Life, Alaska
May 9, 20144.230.69.639 km NW of Mosquito Lake, Alaska
Jan 8, 20114.0Inside2.314 km SE of Skagway, Alaska
Dec 9, 20104.6Inside0.413 km SE of Skagway, Alaska
Jul 2, 20104.036.25.625 km WSW of Covenant Life, Alaska
May 21, 20074.349.03.950 km SW of Covenant Life, Alaska
Mar 5, 20074.044.40.254 km N of Juneau, Alaska
Aug 3, 20044.737.41.426 km WSW of Covenant Life, Alaska
Jan 4, 19994.128.30.218 km SSW of Covenant Life, Alaska
Feb 23, 19974.548.03.145 km NNW of Gustavus, Alaska
Mar 8, 19924.249.2-1.956 km SW of Covenant Life, Alaska
Jul 30, 19914.028.70.025 km SSE of Mud Bay, Alaska
Dec 10, 19904.023.26.223 km NW of Mosquito Lake, Alaska
Jul 11, 19904.039.76.230 km WSW of Covenant Life, Alaska
Jul 11, 19905.538.26.227 km WSW of Covenant Life, Alaska
Dec 12, 19884.734.86.230 km SSW of Covenant Life, Alaska
Nov 17, 19874.927.08.025 km SSE of Mud Bay, Alaska
Nov 14, 19874.026.46.221 km S of Mud Bay, Alaska
Nov 14, 19875.026.93.123 km SSE of Mud Bay, Alaska
Sep 14, 19855.940.71.241 km SSW of Covenant Life, Alaska
Jun 21, 19814.437.616.748 km S of Covenant Life, Alaska
Apr 5, 19814.435.211.131 km W of Mosquito Lake, Alaska
Nov 27, 19804.138.420.533 km SW of Covenant Life, Alaska
Oct 30, 19804.048.220.5Southeastern Alaska
Jul 16, 19804.447.09.348 km WSW of Mosquito Lake, Alaska
Apr 15, 19744.238.44.333 km SW of Covenant Life, Alaska
Jan 26, 19744.034.718.021 km WSW of Covenant Life, Alaska
Oct 25, 19734.816.620.56 km S of Mud Bay, Alaska
Jan 17, 19017.121.7—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

Nov 4, 1994

29.5 ft, Skagway, AK

From Skagway, AK.

On record

7 tsunamis

Since 1927; 1 death recorded here.

Tsunamis recorded here
Mar 11, 2011Honshu Island, M9.10.710
Nov 4, 1994Skagway, AK29.521
Mar 28, 1964Prince William Sound, AK, M9.29.810
May 22, 1960Southern Chile, M9.50.610
Jul 10, 1958Se. Alaska, AK, M7.824.910
Nov 4, 1952Kamchatka, M9.00.010
Oct 24, 1927Se. Alaska, AK, M7.1—10
  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.

Mapped landslides

884

Landslides mapped, probable or better

878

With a recorded date

3

Source inventories

Mapped by AK DOT (874), USDA-FS AK Tongass (6), NASA (4).

  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

39 events in the National Weather Service record, 39 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

3

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 Skagway Airport, 1 miles from the county’s population centre, with records from 1996.

All-time high
93°FAug 5, 2017
All-time low
−9°F2 times, most recently Jan 8, 2009
Warmest night
62°FAug 12, 1997
Coldest day
−4°FJan 7, 2009
Wettest day
3.67 inDec 1, 2020
Hottest year
2016mean 47.1°F
Coldest year
2008mean 40.0°F
Wettest year
202332.01 in
Driest year
200720.92 in
Average monthly high and low temperature and precipitation, last 30 years, Skagway Airport 32°F 32° 23° 2.2 Jan 35° 25° 1.2 Feb 39° 28° 1.4 Mar 48° 35° 1.3 Apr 57° 43° 1.1 May 63° 49° 1.1 Jun 64° 52° 1.5 Jul 63° 51° 2.3 Aug 57° 46° 3.8 Sep 48° 39° 3.8 Oct 37° 30° 2.3 Nov 33° 25° 2.6 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 1998: 122 1999: 136 2000: 125 2001: 121 2002: 129 2003: 130 2004: 108 2005: 120 2006: 153 2007: 139 2008: 134 2009: 137 2010: 123 2011: 132 2012: 155 155 2013: 143 2014: 109 2015: 90 2016: 66 2017: 113 2018: 128 2019: 106 2020: 131 2021: 131 2022: 108 2023: 107 2024: 114 2025: 90 199820082018
Nights at or below freezing each complete year, last 50 years. Thirty-year average: 121.4.

Station Skagway Airport (USW00025335), 24 ft elevation, 1.0 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1996 to October 26, 2026; 98.0% 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

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 Skagway Municipality 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 19961014 / 303,102 / 3,143
Winter storm events since 19962611 / 302,501 / 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 years5.76 / 303,048 / 3,143
Earthquakes M4+ within 50 mi since 19005624 / 30165 / 3,143
Earthquakes M2.5+ in the county since 1973526 / 30460 / 3,143

Neighbouring counties

Neighbouring counties
Haines Borough0000

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 USW00025335.
  • 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.
  • 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.