McKinley County, New Mexico severe weather history spans 117 recorded events between 1962 and 2025. The dominant hazard is flash flood, accounting for 53.0% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,824 nationally and #27 in New Mexico.
117
Recorded events
12
Direct deaths
3
Direct injuries
$1.9M
Property damage
The record
What the McKinley County, New Mexico severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, McKinley County, New Mexico severe weather history averages 1.9 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 43 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 16 events fall before 1990 and 101 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the McKinley County, New Mexico record is flash flood, responsible for 11 direct deaths. The costliest is flash flood, with $1.6M in reported property damage. In total, 9 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in McKinley County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | 62 | 11 | $1.6M | 0 | 1997–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 32 | 0 | $191K | 70 | 1962–2025 |
| Hail | 9 | 0 | $0 | 1 | 1969–2023 |
| Tornado | 5 | 0 | $0 | EFU | 2016–2024 |
| Funnel Cloud | 4 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2014–2022 |
| Heavy Rain | 2 | 0 | $15K | 0 | 1997–2005 |
| Lightning | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1997–1997 |
| Flood | 1 | 0 | $100K | 0 | 2013–2013 |
| Cold/Wind Chill | 1 | 1 | $0 | 0 | 1997–1997 |
Decade by decade
McKinley 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
5 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-06-14 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 2.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 2023-05-13 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2019-02-17 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 2019-05-30 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 2016-08-13 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in McKinley County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 11, 2008 | Flash Flood | GAMERCO | 3 | 0 | $40K |
| Sep 3, 2016 | Flash Flood | TOHATCHI | 2 | 0 | $0 |
| Aug 25, 2006 | Flash Flood | CHURCH ROCK | 2 | 0 | $0 |
| Sep 22, 1997 | Flash Flood | GALLUP | 1 | 1 | $0 |
| Jul 14, 2015 | Flash Flood | SPRINGSTEAD | 1 | 0 | $15K |
| Jul 4, 2015 | Flash Flood | REHOBOTH | 1 | 0 | $300K |
| Dec 27, 1997 | Cold/Wind Chill | GAMERCO | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Sep 13, 1997 | Flash Flood | GALLUP | 1 | 0 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
The heavy rain caused water up to three feet deep to flow through downtown Gallup, on either side of Interstate 40. A rock slide occurred near the intersection of West Jefferson Avenue and Highway 491, causing a large boulder to crush three transients who were seeking shelter from the rain. A section of Highway 491 was also flooded 9 miles north of Gallup. A number of homes were flooded in Gallup, including some as far south as Nizhona Boulevard. Sundance Road was also flooded east of Gallup, in a subdivision between Rehoboth and Church Rock.
A man and his young son drowned when their vehicle was swept down stream trying to cross a flooded arroyo near Church Rock. Officials reported other people escaping without injuries as their vehicles also became trapped at flooded road crossings across west central and northwest McKinley County. A clogged drainage ditch also overflowed onto Interstate 40 near Gallup with mud and debris causing a closure of the westbound lanes. Several people escaped without injury when a mobile home located next to an arroyo tipped as storm water undercut the sandy bank of the arroyo. In general, storms yielded only about one half inch to three quarters inch of rain in about 30 minutes, but it was enough to fill numerous small arroyos and ditches with shallow and fast moving water.
Heavy rain caused State Road 491 north of Gallup to close due to flooding and debris. County Emergency Manager reported flash flooding caused 4 inches of mud and 8 inches of water to enter a juvenile center on the east side of town. He also noted that a few bridges were temporarily closed due to flood waters, along with numerous county roads suffering damage. Exact location and extent of damage was unknown. Allen Joe Begay of White Cone, Arizona was swept away in flood waters while in the Rio Puerco.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
70,431
Population (ACS)
$79K
Median home value
11
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 5, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Oct 29, 2013 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, AND MUDSLIDES | DR |
| Sep 13, 2010 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
| Aug 30, 2006 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
| Sep 7, 2005 | Hurricane | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in McKinley County, New Mexico?
117 events are on record between 1962 and 2025, causing 12 direct deaths and $1.9M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in McKinley County?
Flash Flood, with 62 recorded events — 53.0% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed McKinley County?
5 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 5 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover McKinley County?
11 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include McKinley County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is McKinley County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates McKinley County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 78 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the McKinley 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
- Luna County 123
- Mora County 214
- Los Alamos County 58
- Lincoln County 344
- Otero County 312
- Lea County 991
Cite this page
“McKinley County, New Mexico.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/new-mexico/mckinley-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.