Luna County, New Mexico severe weather history spans 123 recorded events between 1960 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 39.0% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,805 nationally and #25 in New Mexico.
123
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
1
Direct injuries
$930K
Property damage
The record
What the Luna County, New Mexico severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Luna County, New Mexico severe weather history averages 1.9 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 51 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 16 events fall before 1990 and 107 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is flash flood, with $675K 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 Luna County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 48 | 0 | $174K | 78 | 1967–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 30 | 0 | $675K | 0 | 1999–2025 |
| Hail | 28 | 0 | $31K | 1.75 | 1960–2016 |
| Flood | 7 | 0 | $50K | 0 | 2002–2020 |
| Heavy Rain | 6 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2010–2022 |
| Tornado | 4 | 0 | $280 | F1 | 1971–2019 |
Decade by decade
Luna 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
4 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 4 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006-10-09 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1971-08-09 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2019-10-08 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1975-07-25 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Luna County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 6, 1986 | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 | 1 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
About 3 inches of rain fell within an hour over already-saturated ground in the western portion of Deming. Major street flooding occurred, with most roads closed west of Highway 11. This same area was under 2 to 3 feet of water which entered homes and businesses. Power was out in the majority of the city as water logged power poles were easily knocked over by 45 mph wind gusts.
A series of thunderstorms dropped nearly 4 inches of rain within 90 minutes on the south part of Deming, with 2 to 3 inches elsewhere in town. Highway 180 was closed due to a flooded underpass. Several vehicles were stalled in the significant street flooding that resulted.
Two homes along Highway 11 were evacuated due to inundation with at least one inaccessible overnight. Water crossed Highway 11 near mile marker 10 where one car got stuck. The first few arroyos along Highway 9 west of Columbus flooded due to runoff from heavy rain over the Tres Hermanas Mountains. Total rainfall just north of Columbus was 2.97 inches.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
25,611
Population (ACS)
$128K
Median home value
7
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 5, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Sep 30, 2013 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
| Aug 30, 2006 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
| Sep 7, 2005 | Hurricane | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM |
| May 10, 2000 | Fire | SEVERE FIRE THREATS | EM |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Luna County, New Mexico?
123 events are on record between 1960 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $930K in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Luna County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 48 recorded events — 39.0% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Luna County?
4 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 4 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Luna County?
7 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Luna County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Luna County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Luna County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 52 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Luna 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
- Los Alamos County 58
- Lincoln County 344
- McKinley County 117
- Lea County 991
- Mora County 214
- Hidalgo County 68
Cite this page
“Luna County, New Mexico.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/new-mexico/luna-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.