43
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
1
Direct injuries
$5.7M
Property damage
Flash Flood in Rio Arriba County, New Mexico: 43 recorded events between 1998 and 2025. The strongest on record measured 0. That places the county #752 nationally and #16 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Flash Flood in Rio Arriba County, New Mexico: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for flash flood in Rio Arriba County is the 2010s, when 26 of the county's 43 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 Rio Arriba County archive, flash flood makes up 35.0% of all recorded severe weather across 10 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #752 for this hazard and #16 within New Mexico, putting it in the 75.1 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Aug is the peak month for flash flood in Rio Arriba County with 19 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 16, 2006 | DIXON | 0 | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Aug 22, 2016 | CHAMITA | 0 | 0 | 1 | $25K |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 29, 2025 | EL LLANO | 0 | $0 |
| Jul 17, 2025 | GALLINA | 0 | $0 |
| Jun 20, 2024 | ESPANOLA | 0 | $500K |
| Jun 20, 2024 | MEDANALES | 0 | $100K |
| Aug 1, 2022 | SANTA CLARA PUEBLO | 0 | $0 |
| Jun 19, 2022 | DIXON | 0 | $10K |
| Jul 23, 2021 | CANJILON | 0 | $30K |
| Aug 22, 2016 | LA VILLITA | 0 | $0 |
| Aug 22, 2016 | HERNANDEZ | 0 | $2.0M |
| Aug 22, 2016 | HERNANDEZ | 0 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Rio Arriba County
- Hail 41
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A 47 year old male passenger drowned when a small vehicle was swept off State Road 75 just east of Dixon. Other cars had stopped when they saw the water running across the roadway. The driver of the small vehicle drove around stopped vehicles into the fast water. The small car stalled at about the halfway point and was swept downstream into the arroyo. The passenger was unable to escape with the driver.
Two elderly residents rescued from a mobile home that was washed off it's foundation and displaced over 50 feet downstream. Up to 30 homes inundated with water and at least 10 families displaced from flood waters. U.S. Highway 285, highway 74, and county road 57 all closed to remove mud and debris. County Road 57 washed over with mudslides from nearby mesa.
Flash flood wave moved down Yeso Rito arroyo in less than 30 minutes, resulting in significant damage at Ghost Ranch. At least three older structures and a ropes course were completely destroyed. One newer studio structure was seriously damaged. Trees were snapped in half and mud filled several other structures. Damage has been estimated between 500,000 and 1 million dollars. No injuries were reported.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many flash flood events are on record in Rio Arriba County, New Mexico?
43 flash flood events are recorded in Rio Arriba County between 1998 and 2025, causing 1 direct deaths.
What is the strongest flash flood recorded in Rio Arriba County?
The strongest flash flood on record in Rio Arriba County measured 0.
Where does the flash flood data for Rio Arriba 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
“Flash Flood in Rio Arriba County, New Mexico.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/new-mexico/rio-arriba-county/flash-flood/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.