Colfax County, New Mexico severe weather history spans 429 recorded events between 1956 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 70.4% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,136 nationally and #9 in New Mexico.
429
Recorded events
3
Direct deaths
64
Direct injuries
$10.8M
Property damage
The record
What the Colfax County, New Mexico severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Colfax County, New Mexico severe weather history averages 6.2 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 136 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 28 events fall before 1990 and 401 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Colfax County, New Mexico record is flash flood, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is hail, with $5.7M in reported property damage. In total, 9 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Colfax County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 302 | 0 | $5.7M | 2.75 | 1956–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 51 | 0 | $197K | 83 | 1958–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 34 | 1 | $1.6M | 0 | 1998–2025 |
| Tornado | 22 | 1 | $2.3M | F3 | 1960–2023 |
| Funnel Cloud | 12 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1996–2017 |
| Lightning | 3 | 1 | $0 | 0 | 1998–2014 |
| Flood | 2 | 0 | $1.0M | 0 | 2013–2013 |
| Wildfire | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1996–2002 |
| Heavy Rain | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2014–2014 |
Decade by decade
Colfax County, New Mexico severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
23 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 23 touched down inside it and 0 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1964-05-29 | EF3 | 1 | 8 | 3.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1996-07-25 | EF2 | 0 | 5 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1992-08-17 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1977-06-01 | EF1 | 0 | 1 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2023-07-15 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 2021-05-28 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2021-05-28 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 2018-08-09 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 2.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2017-05-10 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 1.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 2014-06-06 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.9 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Colfax County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 29, 1964 | Tornado | 1 | 8 | $250K | |
| Jun 27, 2015 | Flash Flood | EAGLE NEST | 1 | 3 | $50K |
| May 22, 2014 | Lightning | CIMARRON | 1 | 1 | $0 |
| Jun 26, 1960 | Tornado | 0 | 34 | $25K | |
| Jul 25, 1996 | Tornado | CIMARRON | 0 | 5 | $1.7M |
| Jun 29, 1992 | Hail | 0 | 4 | $0 | |
| Jul 25, 2013 | Flash Flood | RATON | 0 | 3 | $10K |
| Jun 30, 1992 | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 | 3 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
New Mexico Department of Transportation closed US Highway 64 as heavy rain caused debris, boulders and a mud slide to cover several miles of the road. Philmont Scout Ranch also reported major flash flooding on the Ponil Creek basin that ran through a boy scout camp site in the nearby mountains. The flooding washed away 4 boys, killing 1.
Thunderstorms produced quarter-size hail in Raton at 1415 MST and dime-size hail in Maxwell at 1450 MST. Thunderstorms redeveloped in Colfax County later, producing a hail storm that lasted about 40 minutes in the Springer area. Baseball-size hail damaged about 55 state vehicles at the New Mexico Boys School just northwest of Springer. Eleven building sustained roofing, window or ventilation damage, including the Trades center, in which all 22 overhead skylights were broken. The storm caused many branches and limbs to break away from trees, littering the campus. School officials estimate the total damage to exceed $500,000.
Widespread significant damage from flash flooding on the Ute Park burn scar. NMDOT closed U.S. Highway 64 due to flooding and debris over the roadway. A total of 28 homes were impacted, some were the same as the ones impacted on July 13th. Six homes were completely cut-off from access due to several feet of mud, rocks, and debris. Damage amounts are estimated.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
12,322
Population (ACS)
$167K
Median home value
18
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 4, 2022 | Fire | WILDFIRES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, FLOODING, MUDFLOWS, AND DEBRIS FLOWS | DR |
| Apr 28, 2022 | Fire | COOK'S PEAK FIRE | FM |
| Apr 5, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Jun 1, 2018 | Fire | UTE PARK FIRE | FM |
| Oct 29, 2014 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Colfax County, New Mexico?
429 events are on record between 1956 and 2025, causing 3 direct deaths and $10.8M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Colfax County?
Hail, with 302 recorded events — 70.4% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Colfax County?
23 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 23 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Colfax County?
18 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Colfax County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Colfax County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Colfax County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 58 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Colfax County, New Mexico severe weather history data come from?
Every figure is drawn from United States federal public-domain records: NOAA/NCEI Storm Events for the event archive, NOAA SPC SVRGIS for mapped tornado paths, FEMA for disaster declarations and risk ratings, and the U.S. Census for population context. Dates are shown in UTC and recent entries may still be revised by NOAA.
Nearby
Neighbouring counties
- Cibola County 93
- Chaves County 581
- Curry County 655
- Catron County 68
- De Baca County 246
- Bernalillo County 457
Cite this page
“Colfax County, New Mexico.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/new-mexico/colfax-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.