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South Central Mountains 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
362
All events
4
Deaths
$70.1M
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.
The South Fork Fire was discovered on June 17th within tribal land along the Rio Ruidoso west of Ruidoso. It blew up in size within its first two days reaching 15,000 acres and destroying an estimated 1,400 structures. Two lives were lost, an as of yet identified person in a vehi…
The McBride Fire started on Tuesday, April 12, 2022, in Gavilan Canyon within the Village of Ruidoso and spread quickly due to 70 to 80 mph winds in the area. By Thursday, April 14th, the fire had burned more than 5,700 acres and burned 207 homes and structures while threatening …
A downed power line about 4.3 miles southwest of Nogal sparked the Nogal Canyon Fire on April 12, 2022. This fire spread to 400 acres by April 13th and destroyed 6 homes and 8 outbuildings while threatening 50 others. Residences in Nogal Canyon up to New Mexico State Highway 37 w…
This lightning sparked wildfire erupted on the afternoon of June 4, 2012 then spread rapidly overnight during strong gusty winds. The wildfire consumed more than 41,000 acres, destroyed 254 residential structures, 12 outbuildings, and forced numerous evacuations across the region…
This human caused fire, named the Swallow Fire for starting on Swallow Drive, burned 10 acres of land in a wooded Ruidoso neighborhood. Nine homes were lost to the blaze.
A human-caused wildfire begun in Gavilan Canyon and quickly spread north and northeast as very strong winds fueled the fire. The White Fire crossed Highway 70 near Ruidoso Downs and continued to move toward Forest Service Road 120. Highway 70 between mile markers 265 and 271 was …
High Wind High Wind
The Smokey Bear RAWS measured high wind gusts up to 64 mph.
Wildfire Wildfire
Emergency management reported the unfortunate and tragic crash of a King Air medical transport aircraft in the northern slopes of the Capitan Mountains during the early morning hours of May 14th, originally en route to the Sierra Blanca Regional Airport. There were 4 deaths assoc…
High Wind High Wind
The AWOS at Sierra Blanca Regional Airport measured high wind gusts up to 63 mph.
High Wind High Wind
The KSRR AWOS measured a 64 mph wind gust. High sustained winds also reached 43 mph during this timeframe.
High Wind High Wind
The KSRR AWOS and a mesonet station at Nogal measured a peak high wind gust of 59 mph and 58 mph, respectively.
High Wind High Wind
The KSRR AWOS measured a peak wind gust of 66 mph along with peak high sustained winds of 48 mph.
High Wind High Wind
The KSRR AWOS measured a peak gust of 66 mph as well as high sustained winds of 46 mph while a public weather station 5 miles northwest of Nogal measured a peak wind gust of 63 mph. The high wind gusts downed a tree at the intersection of White Mountain and George McCarty Dr. nor…
Winter Storm Winter Storm
Sierra Blanca Peak and Ski Apache experienced only snow during the entirety of the event totaling to 31 inches. Meanwhile in lower elevations of the zone, like the village of Ruidoso, a quarter inch of ice accretion from freezing rain late January 23rd through the morning hours o…
High Wind High Wind
Drought Drought
Extreme drought conditions were removed from the entire zone.
Wildfire Wildfire
The Camp Fire was discovered near Fort Stanton, NM on May 25th and quickly grew to a few hundred acres in size on its first day. In total, it burned 877 acres through May 27th. It damaged five structures within the Fort Stanton Historical Site, including the destruction of two wo…
High Wind High Wind
The AWOS at Sierra Blanca Regional Airport measured a peak wind gust of 61 mph and peak sustained winds of 52 mph. Additionally, the mesonet station at Nogal measured a peak wind gust of 58 mph.
Drought Drought
Extreme drought persisted across the southeastern portion of the zone.
High Wind High Wind
Sierra Blanca Regional Airport measured peak wind gusts of 78 mph and peak sustained winds of 56 mph. Additionally, a mesonet station Nogal measured a 59 mph wind gust and a public station near Carrizozo measured a 58 mph wind gust.
High Wind High Wind
The mesonet station at Nogal saw peak wind gusts surpassing the limits of their instrumentation of 67 mph. Additionally, the Sierra Blanca AWOS measured peak wind gusts of 67 mph.
High Wind High Wind
The Sierra Blanca AWOS measured peak wind gusts of 72 mph and peak sustained winds of 59 mph. A ziamet station at Nogal measured peak wind gusts of 66 mph. A public weather station near Carrizozo measured peak wind gusts of 60 mph. Finally, the Smokey Bear RAWS station measured a…
High Wind High Wind
The Sierra Blanca AWOS measured a peak wind gust of 78 mph, as well as a high sustained wind of 60 mph. Peak gusts of 64 and 67 mph were measured elsewhere in the zone. These strong winds blew a roof off a home in Ruidoso.
High Wind High Wind
The Nogal mesonet station measured a peak wind gust of 67 mph.
High Wind High Wind
The Nogal mesonet measured a peak gust of 64 mph. A peak gust of 60 mph was also measured at the Sierra Blanca Airport.
High Wind High Wind
The Nogal mesonet station measured a peak wind gust of 66 mph. Peak gusts of 60 to 62 were measured by Carrizozo mesonet and Sierra Blanca Airport AWOS stations.
Drought Drought
Extreme drought conditions introduced to the far southern portions of the zone.
High Wind High Wind
High winds gusts of up to 61 mph were observed at Sierra Blanca Regional Airport.
Drought Drought
Severe drought conditions expanded across the southern and central portions of the zone.
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill Extreme Cold/Wind Chill
Apparent temperatures as low as -8 degrees were observed within the zone.
High Wind High Wind
The mesonet in Nogal observed high wind gusts peaking at 60 mph.
Heavy Snow Heavy Snow
The Sierra Blanca SNOTEL observed an estimated 9 inches of snowfall. Additionally, CoCoRaHS observers measured 7.5 inches of snowfall near Alto and between 2 to 5.5 inches of snowfall across Ruidoso.
High Wind High Wind
Peak wind gusts of 67 mph were observed at the Nogal Mesonet during the evening. Additionally, several high wind gusts peaking at 62 mph were observed at Sierra Blanca Regional Airport during the afternoon and evening.
Drought Drought
Severe drought conditions expanded across the southern portion and into central portions of the zone.
Drought Drought
Localized severe drought conditions persisted across the far southeast portion of the zone, mainly southeast of U.S Highway 70.
Heavy Snow Heavy Snow
An estimated 12 inches of snow was estimated at the Sierra Blanca SNOTEL site. Generally, 4 to 8 inches of snow was observed in Ruidoso, Alto, and Sierra Blanca Regional Airport. There were reports of traffic backups on State Road 48 (Alto Rd) between Ski Run Road and E. Challete…
Drought Drought
Localized severe drought conditions persisted across the far southeast portion of the zone, mainly southeast of U.S Highway 70.
High Wind High Wind
Peak wind gusts of up to 66 mph and peak sustained winds of up to 49 mph were observed at Sierra Blanca Regional Airport. Additionally, peak wind gusts of up to 60 mph was observed at the Smokey Bear mesonet.
Drought Drought
Localized severe drought conditions returned to the far southeast portion of the zone due to a record warm October.
Drought Drought
Severe drought conditions were removed from the eastern portion of the zone.
Drought Drought
Severe drought persisted across the eastern portion of the zone.
Drought Drought
Severe drought was slightly reduced in areal coverage across the eastern portion of the zone.
Wildfire Wildfire
Growth of this wildfire slowed considerably at the start of June with the total burned area growing nearly 80 more acres to 7,532. Evacuations were lifted by June 3rd.
Drought Drought
Severe drought persisted across the eastern portion of the zone.
High Wind High Wind
The Lincoln #2 Portable RAWS measured a brief wind gust of 62 mph. Strong winds transported smoke from the Blue 2 fire in the Lincoln National Forest over Ruidoso resulting in poor air quality in the town.
Wildfire Wildfire
The Blue 2 wildfire was discovered a few days after it's lightning caused initiation on May 16th within the old Little Bear burn scar. It began in a remote area of the White Mountain Wilderness just southwest of Bonito Lake and west of the village of Ruidoso. After an initial siz…
Drought Drought
Severe drought remained across the eastern portion of the zone.
High Wind High Wind
A mesonet station in Nogal measured a peak wind gust of 63 mph. Additionally, the station at Sierra Blanca Regional Airport reported high sustained winds peaking at 46 mph and a peak wind gust of 62 mph.
High Wind High Wind
The Sierra Blanca Airport observed a peak wind gust of 67 mph.
High Wind High Wind
A wunderground station in Nogal observed a peak wind gust of 72 mph. A peak wind gust of 67 mph and 60 mph was also observed at the Nogal mesonet and the Sierra Blanca AWOS, respectively. High winds resulted in 3 downed trees in the road in Ruidoso and 2 power line wires down. Th…
Events by year, as a table
| Year | Events | Tornadoes |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 8 | 0 |
| 2025 | 20 | 0 |
| 2024 | 33 | 0 |
| 2023 | 20 | 0 |
| 2022 | 28 | 0 |
| 2021 | 32 | 0 |
| 2020 | 14 | 0 |
| 2019 | 21 | 0 |
| 2018 | 32 | 0 |
| 2017 | 10 | 0 |
| 2016 | 10 | 0 |
| 2015 | 7 | 0 |
| 2014 | 18 | 0 |
| 2013 | 24 | 0 |
| 2012 | 23 | 0 |
| 2011 | 34 | 0 |
| 2010 | 20 | 0 |
| 2009 | 8 | 0 |
Search your address
See every tornado that passed within 25 miles of a place in South Central Mountains County, measured to its path.
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