Hail — Lea, New Mexico

2005-06-06 · near Buckeye, Lea, New Mexico

Event narrative

Very large hail caused extensive damage along a swath from near Buckeye to Lovington. Baseball size hail was reported at 16:10 MST just south of Buckeye. An anticyclonic member of a splitting supercell storm rapidly propagated north-northeast towards Lovington. Initial reports of large hail up to the size of baseballs in Lovington were received at 16:30 MST. Within five minutes, destructive golfball to baseball size hailstones severely damaged up to 200 vehicles and approximately 1,000 homes and businesses across the city.

Wider weather episode

Severe thunderstorms brought a round of destructive hailstorms to parts of southeastern New Mexico during the late afternoon of the 6th. Giant baseball to softball size hailstones and winds that gusted up to 70 MPH resulted in approximately two million dollars worth of property damage in central Lea County. The city of Lovington was hardest hit, with more than 600 vehicles severely damaged along with almost 2,000 structures. No injuries were reported.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (32.7500, -103.4833)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5457154. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.