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Tornado in Lea County, New Mexico

Tornado November 2, 2024 · Lea County, New Mexico

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Not rated

1.3 mi

Path length

50 yd

Path width

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 50 yards (0.03 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

Not rated. NOAA lists no rating for this tornado. Ratings come from surveying damage, and the National Weather Service now records “EFU” (unknown) when a tornado hit nothing a survey team could rate.

What the National Weather Service wrote

Several storm chasers reported a brief rope tornado near the town of

Oil Center, New Mexico. This tornado lasted only a few minutes,

traveling an estimated distance of approximately one mile. This

impacted rural portions of Lea County within an oil field that is

not publicly accessible, and no damage was reported. Therefore,

this tornado is rated as EF-Unknown.

The wider storm

A deep late-season trough across the Southwestern United States resulted in an unseasonably moist and unstable airmass across the southern Great Plains. During the afternoon and evening, several severe thunderstorms, including supercells, produced large hail, damaging winds, and at least two brief, weak tornadoes over portions of West Texas and Southeast New Mexico.

Began near Oil Center (32.5300, -103.3500).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

1 more tornado the National Weather Service filed under this storm episode.

EFU Lea County

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 1218640. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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