97
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
8
Direct injuries
$27.1M
Property damage
Tornado in Lea County, New Mexico: 97 recorded events between 1954 and 2024. The strongest on record measured F3. That places the county #58 nationally and #1 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Tornado in Lea County, New Mexico: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for tornado in Lea County is the 1990s, when 33 of the county's 97 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 Lea County archive, tornado makes up 9.8% of all recorded severe weather across 8 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #58 for this hazard and #1 within New Mexico, putting it in the 98.1 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
May is the peak month for tornado in Lea County with 41 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1954-05-17 | EF3 | 0.1 mi | 10 yd | Touched down here |
| 2007-03-23 | EF2 | 8.4 mi | 880 yd | Touched down here |
| 1991-06-06 | EF2 | 10.0 mi | 150 yd | Touched down here |
| 1991-06-06 | EF2 | 4.5 mi | 100 yd | Touched down here |
| 1991-06-06 | EF2 | 17.5 mi | 150 yd | Touched down here |
| 1991-06-06 | EF2 | 10.0 mi | 150 yd | Touched down here |
| 1982-05-27 | EF2 | 0.1 mi | 10 yd | Touched down here |
| 1972-06-14 | EF2 | 0.1 mi | 10 yd | Touched down here |
| 1960-07-24 | EF2 | 0.1 mi | 10 yd | Touched down here |
| 1997-05-06 | EF1 | 1.0 mi | 200 yd | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 7, 1991 | F2 | 0 | 5 | $250K | |
| Apr 11, 1969 | F1 | 0 | 2 | $25K | |
| May 20, 1988 | F0 | 0 | 1 | $250K |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 2, 2024 | OIL CENTER | EFU | $0 |
| Nov 2, 2024 | OIL CENTER | EFU | $0 |
| May 28, 2023 | GLADIOLA | EFU | $0 |
| May 28, 2023 | CROSSROADS | EFU | $0 |
| May 24, 2014 | TEAGUE | EF0 | $0 |
| Mar 23, 2007 | CROSSROADS | EF0 | $2K |
| Mar 23, 2007 | CROSSROADS | EF0 | $0 |
| Mar 23, 2007 | MC DONALD | EF2 | $28K |
| Mar 23, 2007 | LOVINGTON | EF0 | $0 |
| Apr 30, 1999 | EUNICE | F0 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Lea County
- Hail 512
- Thunderstorm Wind 274
- Flash Flood 88
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A strong mesocyclone on the leading edge of the severe thunderstorm moving to the ESE produced a tornado on the southeast flank of the storm. This storm displayed some characteristics of an HP supercell, but with much of the forward flank missing.Damage ranged from F0 on the southern end (probably from an RFD) to F1 damage in the heart of the tornado path. A damage survey discovered a highly convergent pattern to the debris path of the tornado. Damage ranged from travel trailers overturned, to mobile homes pushed from foundation and roof sections missing, to a barn that was levelled and unrecognizable.
Damage occurred just west of the Hobbs city limit where RFD and tornadic winds were superimposed. The damage included a 15×20 ft wooden roof taken off an old shed, parts of two other roofs damaged, an awning from a trailer destroyed, a trailer pushed 3-4 feet off its foundation, and two utility poles downed. The tornado was sighted, and a faint trail of it could be traced in the debris pattern upon inspection, but RFD winds occurred in the area as well with much of the debris blown in a divergent pattern.
Several storm chasers reported a brief rope tornado near the town of|Oil Center, New Mexico. This tornado lasted only a few minutes,|traveling an estimated distance of approximately one mile. This|impacted rural portions of Lea County within an oil field that is|not publicly accessible, and no damage was reported. Therefore,|this tornado is rated as EF-Unknown.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many tornado events are on record in Lea County, New Mexico?
97 tornado events are recorded in Lea County between 1954 and 2024, causing 0 direct deaths.
What is the strongest tornado recorded in Lea County?
The strongest tornado on record in Lea County measured F3.
Where does the tornado data for Lea 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 Lea County, New Mexico.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/new-mexico/lea-county/tornado/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.