Grant County, New Mexico severe weather history spans 171 recorded events between 1957 and 2025. The dominant hazard is flash flood, accounting for 37.4% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,602 nationally and #22 in New Mexico.
171
Recorded events
2
Direct deaths
0
Direct injuries
$2.3M
Property damage
The record
What the Grant County, New Mexico severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Grant County, New Mexico severe weather history averages 2.5 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 72 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 13 events fall before 1990 and 158 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Grant County, New Mexico record is flash flood, responsible for 2 direct deaths. The costliest is hail, with $1.2M 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 Grant County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | 64 | 2 | $396K | 0 | 1997–2025 |
| Hail | 58 | 0 | $1.2M | 2 | 1964–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 26 | 0 | $170K | 74 | 1961–2025 |
| Heavy Rain | 11 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2010–2022 |
| Tornado | 7 | 0 | $503K | F3 | 1957–2015 |
| Flood | 5 | 0 | $50K | 0 | 2006–2022 |
Decade by decade
Grant 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
7 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1957-10-12 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 8.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1989-08-13 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1979-08-19 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1967-06-15 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2015-10-07 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 1.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 2007-09-06 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 3.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1979-07-31 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Grant County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 30, 2017 | Flash Flood | SILVER CITY | 2 | 0 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Widespread rainfall amounts of 2 inches to almost 3.5 inches occurred around Silver City in the early morning hours. A water rescue was necessary in Tyrone. One vehicle was swept away in the Pinos Altos Creek low water crossing on East 19th Street. The vehicle became wedged in culvert running under US 180, but the driver and occupant were washed downstream. One body was recovered about 0.8 miles downstream near the confluence with Silva Creek. A second body was recovered about 1.2 miles downstream in the Silver City big ditch reach of San Vicente Arroyo near the Broadway Street bridge.
A slow moving severe thundertorm formed just north of Silver City and gradually moved southward across the western half of town and into neighboring Tyrone. Hail, mainly 3/4 inch in diameter, fell for 40 minutes and accumulated up to 6 inches. Within this time, hailstones up to 1.25 inches in diameter fell briefly. Vegetation was stripped, skylights were broken and numerous roofs suffered damage. Automobiles were left with small dents. Snowplows were required to clear the two major highways in western Silver City.
A weather spotter measured 4 inches of rain at Separ (between Deming and Lordsburg) from a slow moving thunderstorm. The force of the running water washed out some of a railroad bed, knocked over much of the fencing in the area, and resulted in extensive erosion damage to local roads.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
27,775
Population (ACS)
$176K
Median home value
13
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 16, 2025 | Fire | TROUT FIRE | FM |
| Apr 5, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| May 26, 2012 | Fire | WHITEWATER-BALDY FIRE COMPLEX | FM |
| Mar 8, 2011 | Fire | QUAIL RIDGE FIRE | FM |
| Aug 30, 2006 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Grant County, New Mexico?
171 events are on record between 1957 and 2025, causing 2 direct deaths and $2.3M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Grant County?
Flash Flood, with 64 recorded events — 37.4% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Grant County?
7 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 7 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Grant County?
13 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Grant County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Grant County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Grant County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 74 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Grant 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
- Eddy County 1,066
- Guadalupe County 248
- Doña Ana County 357
- Harding County 186
- De Baca County 246
- Hidalgo County 68
Cite this page
“Grant County, New Mexico.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/new-mexico/grant-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.