New Mexico sees a moderate amount of severe weather each year, with 670 confirmed tornadoes, 5,103 hailstorm events and 2,212 damaging-wind events recorded by the National Weather Service since 1950., and averages 8.9 tornadoes per year over the 75-year record. New Mexico lies within Tornado Alley, the historic core of the country’s most active severe-weather climate. The interactive map below plots every significant severe-weather event in New Mexico from the official NOAA Storm Events Database (1950 through September 2025).

Use the map to find your county, click any marker for the date, magnitude, and casualty details of that event, and switch between tornadoes, hail and wind using the chips. For the national view across all 50 states, see our NOAA Storm Reports interactive map. For tornado tracks specifically, see the US Tornado Tracks map; for hail size and frequency, the US Hailstorms map.

New Mexico Severe Weather by the Numbers (1950–2025)

• 670 tornadoes recorded between 1950 and 2025
• 44 violent tornadoes rated F2/EF2 or stronger
• 5 direct tornado deaths and 163 direct injuries
• 5,103 hailstorm events recorded by the NWS
• 2,212 damaging-wind events on record
• 8.9 tornadoes per year on average across the 75-year record
• May is the peak severe-weather month, accounting for roughly 31% of New Mexico tornadoes
• 119 total direct deaths from all severe-weather event types tracked by the NWS

When New Mexico Severe Weather Happens

New Mexico tornado activity is heavily concentrated in spring. March, April, May and June account for 68% of all New Mexico tornadoes, with May alone responsible for roughly 31%.

• May: 208 tornadoes (31%) — peak month
• June: 185 tornadoes (27.6%)
• July: 81 tornadoes (12.1%)
• August: 59 tornadoes (8.8%)
• September: 42 tornadoes (6.3%)
• April: 42 tornadoes (6.3%)

Top 10 New Mexico Counties by Tornado Frequency

Tornado activity in New Mexico is geographically broad, but a handful of counties have logged many times the state average. The combination of population density (more spotters and damage reports), county land area and local climatology drives the rankings below.

The Deadliest Tornadoes in New Mexico History

New Mexico has lost 5 lives to tornadoes since the National Weather Service began systematic tornado record-keeping in 1950.

New Mexico Tornado Strength Distribution

Most New Mexico tornadoes are weak: roughly 93% are rated F0/EF0 or F1/EF1. Violent tornadoes (F2+/EF2+) account for around 6.9% of rated tornadoes in the state.

• F0/EF0 (weak): 471 tornadoes — 74.3% of rated events
• F1/EF1: 119 tornadoes — 18.8% of rated events
• F2/EF2 (strong): 40 tornadoes — 6.3% of rated events
• F3/EF3: 4 tornadoes — 0.6% of rated events

Record-Setting Severe Weather in New Mexico

Largest hailstone: 4.50 inches in diameter, observed in San Miguel County on June 26, 1982. The three largest hailstones on record in New Mexico measured 4.50″, 4.50″, 4.50″.

Highest measured wind gust: 82 knots (94 mph) recorded in Dona Ana County near Organ on June 19, 2024. Most damaging-wind events in New Mexico are estimated rather than measured because anemometers are sparse across the rural areas where supercells most often produce destructive thunderstorm winds.

How New Mexico Compares Nationally

New Mexico ranks 29th nationally for tornado frequency, in the middle of the pack of US states by severe-weather activity.

• Tornadoes (top 5): Texas (9,908), Kansas (4,890), Oklahoma (4,856), Florida (3,779), Iowa (3,417).
• New Mexico tornado total: 670 — ranked 29th nationally.
• New Mexico hail total: 5,103 hail events on record since 1950.
• New Mexico wind total: 2,212 damaging-wind events on record since 1950.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many tornadoes does New Mexico have on average per year?

New Mexico averages 8.9 tornadoes per year over the 1950–2025 period. Counts vary widely year to year, but the long-term mean over 75 years of NWS records is a reliable benchmark for typical activity.

What was the deadliest tornado in New Mexico history?

The March 23, 2007 tornado, rated EF2 on the Fujita scale, killed 2 people and injured 33 in Curry County. It remains the single deadliest tornado in the New Mexico modern record.

Where in New Mexico are tornadoes most common?

The single county with the most tornadoes on record is Lea County with 97 events. The three most active counties overall are Lea, Eddy, Curry.

How does New Mexico compare to its neighbors?

New Mexico shares a severe-weather climate with Colorado, Oklahoma, Texas, Arizona, Utah. Severe storms regularly cross state lines, so the same supercells, hail cores and wind events often appear in New Mexico’s neighbors’ records on the same date.

How recent is the data on this map?

The map and statistics on this page are pulled from NOAA’s official Storm Events Database, which currently runs from January 1950 through September 2025. New records typically appear in the database within 30–90 days of the event date, once damage surveys and ratings are complete.

Compare New Mexico to Neighboring States

Severe weather doesn’t stop at state lines. The same supercell systems that produce New Mexico tornadoes regularly cross into neighboring states. Compare New Mexico’s storm history to its land neighbors:

• Colorado severe storm history — ranked 13th nationally, core Tornado Alley state
• Oklahoma severe storm history — ranked 3rd nationally, core Tornado Alley state
• Texas severe storm history — ranked 1st nationally, Gulf-coast and Tornado Alley overlap
• Arizona severe storm history — ranked 34th nationally, mountain-west severe weather, mostly hail and high wind
• Utah severe storm history — ranked 39th nationally, mountain-west severe weather, mostly hail and high wind

Explore the national NOAA Storm Reports map · US Tornado Tracks map · US Hailstorms map