Hail — Socorro, New Mexico

2021-10-01 · near Luis Lopez, Socorro, New Mexico

Event narrative

A thunderstorm near Luis Lopez produced estimated pea to half inch size hail which accumulated between 6 to 8 inches deep along Interstate 25. The highest accumulations were observed along Interstate 25 between mile markers 144 and 145 which resulted in multiple vehicle accidents as well as the closing of the Interstate. The hail stripped numerous trees of their leaves and also caused damage to chile plants in the Luis Lopez area. Heavy rain from the thunderstorm resulted in the minor flooding of low-water crossings along New Mexico State Road 1 between mile markers 54 and 56 which carried debris on the roadway. No injuries were reported. Damages are estimated for the unknown amount of cars involved in the multi-vehicle accident as well as the crop damage to the chile plants.

Wider weather episode

The beginning of October marked a wet pattern for much of northern and central New Mexico as a storm system slowly moved across the state on October 1, 2021. An abundant amount of moisture accompanied this system which generated widespread shower activity across the area. A limited amount of instability generally meant that this activity was beneficial rain showers with only isolated embedded thunderstorms. These thunderstorms generally posed a non-severe threat across most of the area. However, one thunderstorm near Luis Lopez in Socorro County did produce small hail. While this hail was below severe criteria, the thunderstorm did produce hail for about 30 minutes which led to deep accumulations and impacts felt along Interstate 25.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (33.9900, -106.8900)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 977905. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.