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Quay County, New Mexico
Tornadoes, hail, floods and severe storms recorded here between 2009 and 2026, from NOAA's Storm Events Database. Search an address to see which tornadoes came closest to it.
0
Tornado reports
0
Hail reports
0
Floods since 1996
294
All events
3
Deaths
$4.3M
Property damage
Year by year
All storm eventsTornadoes
NOAA's storm database records tornadoes back to 1950 and hail and thunderstorm wind back to 1955, but floods only from 1996 on. Older floods are missing here. For those, the U.S. Geological Survey's stream gauge records and flood reports are the place to look.
Most significant events
The strongest tornadoes, deadliest events and biggest damage here, up to 50.
A wildfire that developed in Quay County experienced a 180 degree wind shift and burned over two volunteer firefighters while they were refilling their water tanker. One firefighter was killed and the other sustained burn injuries. The injured firefighter was released from the ho…
Bitterly cold temperatures, light snow, and breezy conditions created deadly travel conditions along Interstate 40 between Santa Rosa and Tucumcari. A 40 car pile-up prompted the closure of the highway with a dozen injuries and 1 fatality.
An animal rescue volunteer and an 8-week old puppy died in a crash on Interstate 40 near Tucumcari when freezing fog iced over the interstate. Her pickup slid off I-40 onto oncoming traffic around 10 am and hit a tractor-trailer rig. The semi then hit another vehicle and pinned i…
Various sources across Quay County reported peak wind gusts between 58 mph and 71 mph, including the Tucumcari airport. A cargo train with 26 cars was blown off a bridge and fell nearly 50 feet to the bottom of the Canadian River near Logan. NM-469 was closed while the wreckage w…
Drought Drought
Severe drought conditions persisted across a majority of the zone with extreme drought becoming confined to areas along I-40 west of Tucumcari.
Wildfire Wildfire
The lightning caused Mimms fire began on private land in southwestern Quay County, northwest of Jordan and north of NM Highway 156. The fire made wind driven runs on May 15th, growing to a final size of 7,093 acres before coming under control May 17th.
Wildfire Wildfire
The lighting caused Line Fire began near Nara Visa in far northern Quay County May 14th. The fire made wind-driven runs to the north that day, crossing the state line into TX and damaging some power lines. The NM portion of the fire was determined to be 20,030 acres, out of a tot…
Drought Drought
Extreme drought was introduced to a portion of the zone, while severe drought persisted elsewhere.
Wildfire Wildfire
The Sparks Wildfire was discovered in the afternoon of April 29th near NM Highway 156 in far western Quay County on private land. It quickly grew with reports of active running, spotting, and being wind-driven moving toward the east. While the fire was reported to have threatened…
High Wind High Wind
The ASOS at Tucumcari Regional Airport measured a brief high wind gust of 62 mph.
Drought Drought
Severe drought expanded across the entire zone.
Wildfire Wildfire
The Old 66 Wildfire was discovered mid-day March 27th, and quickly grew out of control north of I-40 near San Jon, NM. It burned quickly southward through grasslands crossing I-40 aided by strong northerly to northeasterly winds behind a strong cold front, growing to a final size…
High Wind High Wind
A trained spotter in the southern portion of the county estimated a 58 mph wind gust.
Drought Drought
Severe drought was introduced to northern two-thirds of the zone.
High Wind High Wind
The KTCC ASOS measured a peak wind gust of 66 mph and high sustained winds of 52 mph. Elsewhere in the zone, mesonet stations near Endee and south of Quay measured high wind gusts up to 61 mph and high sustained winds of 51 and 46 mph respectively.
Wildfire Wildfire
The 352 wildfire ignited along NM 469 north of San Jon and east Tucumcari. The fire was wind driven and quickly grew to 2,674 acres before with smoke visible from I-40. NM 469 was closed north of San Jon and state officials were conducting house-to-house notifications for residen…
High Wind High Wind
The Tucumcari Municipal Airport ASOS measured a brief high wind gust of 58 mph.
High Wind High Wind
The Tucumcari Municipal Airport ASOS measured a brief wind gust of 60 mph.
High Wind High Wind
The Tucumcari Regional Airport measured peak wind gusts of 61 mph and peak sustained winds of 45 mph.
High Wind High Wind
The Tucumcari Municipal Airport observed a peak wind gust of 63 mph.
High Wind High Wind
The Tucumcari Airport ASOS measured a peak wind gust of 69 mph, as well as a high sustained wind speed of 50 mph. Peak wind gusts of 60 to 64 mph were measured elsewhere in the zone.
High Wind High Wind
Peak gusts surpassing instrumentation's limit of 67 mph was observed at the mesonet stations at Logan and Tucumcari. Emergency management reported lots of debris in the community, including numerous power poles down and roof damage.
High Wind High Wind
The Tucumcari Airport ASOS measured a peak wind gust of 70 mph, as well as a high sustained wind speed of 52 mph. Peak wind gusts of 60 and 61 mph were measured by mesonet stations elsewhere in the zone.
Winter Weather Winter Weather
A snow squall resulted in visibility below a quarter of a mile and near whiteout conditions according to a trained spotter 12 miles east of Tucumcari and a COOP observer 3 miles south of Ragland. North wind gusts of up to 40 mph were observed at Tucumcari Municipal Airport as the…
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill Extreme Cold/Wind Chill
Apparent temperatures as low as -19 degrees were observed within the zone.
Heavy Snow Heavy Snow
A CoCoRaHS observer 7.7 miles north of McAlister measured 7.5 inches of snowfall. Additionally, a CoCoRaHS observer in House measured 5.4 inches of snowfall. Slick and severe driving conditions from snow in the zone resulted in the closure of I-40 from Tucumcari to Amarillo with …
Winter Weather Winter Weather
A trained spotter near Montoya in western Quay County reported 2.5 inches of snow. Poor road conditions from snow resulted in a long traffic backup on I-40 that stretched and started in the zone at mile marker 330, the western outskirts of Tucumcari.
Drought Drought
Severe drought was removed from the vast majority of the zone.
High Wind High Wind
A peak wind gust of 61 mph was observed at the Tucumcari Municipal Airport. Additionally, sustained winds peaked at 43 mph. A nearby wunderground station in Logan observed a peak wind gust of 60 mph.
Drought Drought
Severe drought remained across eastern portions of the zone.
High Wind High Wind
The Tucumcari Airport measured a peak gust of 61 mph.
Drought Drought
Severe drought remained across the portions of the zone.
High Wind High Wind
The Tucumcari Airport measured a peak gust of 70 mph. Peak gusts regularly surpassed 58 mph with high sustained winds above 40 mph during this timeframe.
High Wind High Wind
The Tucumcari Airport measured high sustained winds of 40 to 45 mph with a peak gust of 61 mph at 12:53 MST.
Drought Drought
Severe drought persisted across the portions of the zone.
High Wind High Wind
The Tucumcari ASOS measured a peak wind gust of 60 mph.
Blizzard Blizzard
There was a CoCoRaHS report of blizzard conditions from 09:10 to 13:15 MST in Quay County. The Tucumcari ASOS also observed blizzard conditions with low visibility under a quarter statute mile and high winds gusting 45 to 51 mph. Between 2 to 4 inches of snow were reported across…
Drought Drought
Severe drought persisted across the zone.
Drought Drought
Severe drought conditions persisted across most of the zone, despite receiving some beneficial precipitation from several winter storms.
Drought Drought
A dry and warm November resulted in the persistence of severe drought conditions over the entirety of the zone.
High Wind High Wind
The Logan NMCC mesonet station measured a peak gust of 60 mph.
Drought Drought
A dry and warm October resulted in the eastward expansion of severe drought conditions in the zone outside of the far northeast.
Drought Drought
A continuation of a dry monsoon season and above normal temperatures allowed for the expansion of severe drought conditions in eastern half of the zone.
Drought Drought
A continuation of a dry monsoon season and above normal temperatures allowed for the introduction of a patch of severe drought conditions in northern portions of the zone.
High Wind High Wind
Dry microburst at the Tucumcari observing station from nearby virga showers.
Drought Drought
Regular rounds of thunderstorms through the month of June improved the last remaining area of severe drought.
Drought Drought
Drought conditions improved in Quay County during the month of May with the removal of extreme drought conditions. A small area of severe drought conditions persisted in the northeastern section of the county.
High Wind High Wind
The Tucumcari Airport ASOS measured a peak wind gust of 58 mph.
High Wind High Wind
The Tucumcari Airport measured a peak wind gust of 64 mph. Another mesonet station measured a peak wind gust of 60 mph in the southeastern section of the county.
Drought Drought
Severe drought conditions from October 2022 persisted in the eastern section of the county through April 2023. Extreme drought was introduced to the far eastern fringe of the county along the TX border.
Events by year, as a table
| Year | Events | Tornadoes |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 13 | 0 |
| 2025 | 9 | 0 |
| 2024 | 12 | 0 |
| 2023 | 28 | 0 |
| 2022 | 27 | 0 |
| 2021 | 22 | 0 |
| 2020 | 14 | 0 |
| 2019 | 15 | 0 |
| 2018 | 18 | 0 |
| 2017 | 11 | 0 |
| 2016 | 5 | 0 |
| 2015 | 11 | 0 |
| 2014 | 23 | 0 |
| 2013 | 21 | 0 |
| 2012 | 23 | 0 |
| 2011 | 22 | 0 |
| 2010 | 16 | 0 |
| 2009 | 4 | 0 |
Search your address
See every tornado that passed within 25 miles of a place in Quay County, measured to its path.
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