48
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
0
Direct injuries
$803K
Property damage
Tornado in Union County, New Mexico: 48 recorded events between 1951 and 2024. The strongest on record measured F2. That places the county #414 nationally and #6 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Tornado in Union County, New Mexico: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for tornado in Union County is the 2010s, when 13 of the county's 48 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 Union County archive, tornado makes up 7.7% of all recorded severe weather across 7 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #414 for this hazard and #6 within New Mexico, putting it in the 85.9 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
May is the peak month for tornado in Union County with 20 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.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
| Date | Scale | Path length | Max width | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010-05-23 | EF2 | 8.8 mi | 440 yd | Touched down here |
| 2010-05-23 | EF2 | 22.0 mi | 440 yd | Touched down here |
| 1972-05-10 | EF2 | 2.5 mi | 660 yd | Touched down here |
| 1965-09-18 | EF2 | 5.1 mi | 100 yd | Crossed in |
| 2010-05-23 | EF1 | 5.7 mi | 175 yd | Touched down here |
| 2010-05-23 | EF1 | 4.2 mi | 100 yd | Touched down here |
| 2010-05-23 | EF1 | 9.3 mi | 175 yd | Touched down here |
| 1979-05-15 | EF1 | 0.1 mi | 10 yd | Touched down here |
| 1977-04-19 | EF1 | 0.8 mi | 20 yd | Touched down here |
| 1972-05-10 | EF1 | 3.6 mi | 10 yd | Touched down here |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 28, 2024 | MT DORA | EFU | $0 |
| May 30, 2021 | MOSES | EF0 | $0 |
| Jul 4, 2020 | SOFIA | EF0 | $0 |
| Jul 5, 2019 | MT DORA | EF0 | $0 |
| May 26, 2019 | (CAO)CLAYTON ARPT | EF0 | $0 |
| May 26, 2019 | PASAMONTE | EF0 | $0 |
| Sep 9, 2018 | GLADSTONE | EF0 | $0 |
| Jun 22, 2018 | MT DORA | EF0 | $0 |
| Aug 13, 2016 | CAPULIN | EF0 | $0 |
| Jun 7, 2014 | CLAPHAM | EF0 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Union County
- Hail 416
- Thunderstorm Wind 110
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Debris on Highway 56 was seen at mile post 93. Power lines were down, barbed wire fences and hay bales were all over. In addition, a steel building from a feed lot was destroyed, a cow with a broken leg was observed on the road, and a semi truck was turned over on private property. The tornado crossed the New Mexico-Oklahoma state line approximately 8.7 miles southeast of Seneca and continued into neighboring Cimarron County, Oklahoma.
A rancher several miles southwest of Mount Dora reported a weak tornado on the ground for several minutes. Storm chasers in the area confirmed the tornado was more like a landspout with several funnel clouds observed during its evolution.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many tornado events are on record in Union County, New Mexico?
48 tornado events are recorded in Union County between 1951 and 2024, causing 0 direct deaths.
What is the strongest tornado recorded in Union County?
The strongest tornado on record in Union County measured F2.
Where does the tornado data for Union 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
“Tornado in Union County, New Mexico.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/new-mexico/union-county/tornado/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.