91
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
4
Direct injuries
$498K
Property damage
Thunderstorm Wind in Otero County, New Mexico: 91 recorded events between 1957 and 2025. The strongest on record measured 100. That places the county #2,319 nationally and #10 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Thunderstorm Wind in Otero County, New Mexico: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for thunderstorm wind in Otero County is the 2020s, when 31 of the county's 91 recorded events were logged. Comparing decades is useful for spotting active periods, but the earliest years are thin because systematic reporting for this hazard began later.
Within the Otero County archive, thunderstorm wind makes up 29.2% of all recorded severe weather across 7 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #2,319 for this hazard and #10 within New Mexico, putting it in the 26.3 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Jun is the peak month for thunderstorm wind in Otero County with 34 recorded events, while Jan is the quietest. Seasonality here is a property of the archive as much as the climate: reports cluster where population and spotter networks are densest.
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 6, 2010 | DESERT | 71 | 0 | 4 | $1K |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 29, 2025 | (HMN)HOLOMAN AFB ALM | 50 | $0 |
| Sep 24, 2025 | VALMONT | 59 | $0 |
| Sep 23, 2025 | TULAROSA | 68 | $5K |
| Jul 29, 2025 | BOLES | 55 | $0 |
| Jul 8, 2025 | TULAROSA | 54 | $0 |
| Jul 8, 2025 | TULAROSA | 61 | $0 |
| Jun 30, 2025 | (HMN)HOLOMAN AFB ALM | 55 | $0 |
| Aug 22, 2024 | (HMN)HOLOMAN AFB ALM | 54 | $0 |
| Jul 23, 2024 | TULAROSA | 57 | $0 |
| Jun 13, 2024 | OROGRANDE | 50 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Otero County
- Hail 121
- Flash Flood 69
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Reports of trees down across the county from winds. Car windows were broken and a roof was blown off a trailer home in Alamogordo. A transformer fell into a tree and the tree then fell into a house. About 2000 people in the area were without power for several hours. Some locally dense blowing dust was also reported with the storm.
The White Sands Missile Range site at Tula recorded a peak gust of 78 mph. Another site at the Tula Airstrip recorded a peak gust of 73 mph but could have been higher as comms were cut-off prior to storms arrival. The tower was bent by winds about 30 degrees.
A line of strong thunderstorms accompanied by very strong winds moved through the Alamogordo area during the late afternoon and early evening hours. Wind gusts of 112 mph were reported from at least one automated sensor site on the White Sands Missile Range and winds of at least 75 mph were reported at Holloman AFB before the station's wind equipment broke. Considerable tree damage was noted around the area however damage to structures was limited. The worst damage was found in the Alamogordo subdivision of Bolles Acres. The back porch/deck of a residence was destroyed, as was a 20 foot long trailer , and a small barn constructed of sheet metal on a 2X4 frame. Debris from the barn was carried about 100 yds and struck a site-built stucco home with enough force to penetrate an exposed wall and protrude into the inside of the structure.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many thunderstorm wind events are on record in Otero County, New Mexico?
91 thunderstorm wind events are recorded in Otero County between 1957 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths.
What is the strongest thunderstorm wind recorded in Otero County?
The strongest thunderstorm wind on record in Otero County measured 100.
Where does the thunderstorm wind data for Otero County come from?
All events come from the NOAA/NCEI Storm Events Database, the federal public-domain archive of severe weather reports. Dates are UTC, damage is as reported and not inflation-adjusted, and the most recent entries may still be revised.
Cite this page
“Thunderstorm Wind in Otero County, New Mexico.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/new-mexico/otero-county/thunderstorm-wind/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.