Hidalgo County, New Mexico severe weather history spans 68 recorded events between 1961 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 52.9% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,998 nationally and #30 in New Mexico.
68
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
0
Direct injuries
$88K
Property damage
The record
What the Hidalgo County, New Mexico severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Hidalgo County, New Mexico severe weather history averages 1.1 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2020s, with 22 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 4 events fall before 1990 and 64 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is thunderstorm wind, with $80K in reported property damage. In total, 6 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Hidalgo County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 36 | 0 | $80K | 70 | 1983–2025 |
| Hail | 17 | 0 | $6K | 1.75 | 1992–2018 |
| Flash Flood | 8 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2002–2025 |
| Tornado | 3 | 0 | $3K | F1 | 1961–2016 |
| Heavy Rain | 3 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2014–2017 |
| Funnel Cloud | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2020–2020 |
Decade by decade
Hidalgo 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
3 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 3 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1961-06-15 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2016-09-01 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 2005-10-15 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Power was out in Lordsburg area for over 30 hours. The wind created a dust storm with near zero visibility west of Lordsburg near mile marker 6 which caused a 2015 Dodge truck towing a travel trailer to rear end an 18 wheeler which had slowed down due to the conditions. One woman in the Dodge truck was killed and serious injuries were sustained to the driver of the truck.
Downburst winds gusting to an estimated 80 mph drove a large amount of quarter size hail into the sides of buildings on the Midbar Ranch. All screens on the windward side were destroyed. Bark was stripped from trees on the windward side of trunks. Tall grass was stripped to near the ground.
The Hidalgo County Sheriff reported major flooding in Lordsburg. Four to five feet of standing water were reported at the Interstate 10 under passes near Motel Drive at both the east and west ends of Lordsburg. A vehicle extraction was also performed at the Highway 70 underpass. A mesonet site reported 2.16 inches of rainfall near the Interstate 10 port of entry with instantaneous rainfall rates exceeded 5 inches per hour at times.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
4,041
Population (ACS)
$111K
Median home value
10
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 5, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Aug 30, 2006 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
| Sep 7, 2005 | Hurricane | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM |
| May 10, 2000 | Fire | SEVERE FIRE THREATS | EM |
| Jun 7, 1993 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Hidalgo County, New Mexico?
68 events are on record between 1961 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $88K in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Hidalgo County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 36 recorded events — 52.9% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Hidalgo County?
3 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 3 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Hidalgo County?
10 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Hidalgo County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Hidalgo County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Hidalgo County as very low risk, placing it in the 9 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Hidalgo 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
- Harding County 186
- Lea County 991
- Guadalupe County 248
- Lincoln County 344
- Los Alamos County 58
- Grant County 171
Cite this page
“Hidalgo County, New Mexico.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/new-mexico/hidalgo-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.