Otero County, New Mexico severe weather history spans 312 recorded events between 1957 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 38.8% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,711 nationally and #14 in New Mexico.
312
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
5
Direct injuries
$7.2M
Property damage
The record
What the Otero County, New Mexico severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Otero County, New Mexico severe weather history averages 4.6 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 95 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 49 events fall before 1990 and 263 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is flash flood, with $3.5M in reported property damage. In total, 7 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Otero County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 121 | 0 | $2.6M | 3 | 1959–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 91 | 0 | $498K | 100 | 1957–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 69 | 0 | $3.5M | 0 | 1999–2025 |
| Tornado | 18 | 0 | $580K | F2 | 1959–2020 |
| Heavy Rain | 11 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2012–2023 |
| Funnel Cloud | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2012–2012 |
| Flood | 1 | 0 | $25K | 0 | 2009–2009 |
Decade by decade
Otero 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
18 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 17 touched down inside it and 1 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1982-05-27 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2019-06-04 | EF1 | 0 | 1 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1991-04-04 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1989-07-22 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1959-06-03 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1959-06-03 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2020-03-13 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 2015-07-26 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 2007-05-02 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 8.4 mi | Crossed in |
| 2007-05-02 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.6 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Otero County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 6, 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | DESERT | 0 | 4 | $1K |
| Jun 4, 2019 | Tornado | BOLES | 0 | 1 | $250K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Hail from quarter to golf ball size, with occasional hail stones the size of tennis balls accumulated to about 3 inches in the Tularosa area. The hail was driven by wind gusts up to 80 mph, and broke windows, damaged roofs and sidings to more than 500 homes in Tularosa.
Heavy rainfall along the western slopes of the southern Sacramento Mountains led to excessive runoff and major flooding in Alamogordo and Boles Acres. Numerous roads throughout the area were closed, covered with water and debris. There were also some rescues of people trapped in their homes.
Several thunderstorms with heavy rains moved southward across the southern Sacramento Mountains, dropping 2 to 3 inches of rain. Flash flooding occurred from Cloudcroft to Timberon, with many roads washed out and structures damaged in the Timberon area.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Moderate
FEMA NRI risk rating
68,816
Population (ACS)
$163K
Median home value
24
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 22, 2025 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, AND LANDSLIDES | DR |
| Jul 10, 2025 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, AND LANDSLIDES | EM |
| Jun 20, 2024 | Fire | SOUTH FORK FIRE, SALT FIRE, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Jun 18, 2024 | Fire | SALT FIRE | FM |
| Jun 17, 2024 | Fire | SOUTH FORK FIRE | FM |
| Apr 5, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Otero County, New Mexico?
312 events are on record between 1957 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $7.2M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Otero County?
Hail, with 121 recorded events — 38.8% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Otero County?
18 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 17 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Otero County?
24 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Otero County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Otero County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Otero County as relatively moderate risk, placing it in the 85 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Otero 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
- Mora County 214
- Quay County 623
- McKinley County 117
- Rio Arriba County 123
- Luna County 123
- Roosevelt County 530
Cite this page
“Otero County, New Mexico.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/new-mexico/otero-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.