San Miguel County, New Mexico severe weather history spans 417 recorded events between 1957 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 67.4% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,188 nationally and #10 in New Mexico.
417
Recorded events
3
Direct deaths
0
Direct injuries
$7.8M
Property damage
The record
What the San Miguel County, New Mexico severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, San Miguel County, New Mexico severe weather history averages 6.1 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 113 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 55 events fall before 1990 and 362 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the San Miguel County, New Mexico record is flash flood, responsible for 3 direct deaths. The costliest is flash flood, with $5.0M 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 San Miguel County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 281 | 0 | $475K | 4.5 | 1958–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 65 | 3 | $5.0M | 0 | 1997–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 36 | 0 | $4K | 70 | 1966–2025 |
| Tornado | 18 | 0 | $178K | F2 | 1957–2025 |
| Funnel Cloud | 7 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2003–2018 |
| Flood | 5 | 0 | $1.0M | 0 | 2013–2025 |
| Debris Flow | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2024–2024 |
| Heavy Rain | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2003–2016 |
| Wildfire | 1 | 0 | $1.2M | 0 | 2000–2000 |
Decade by decade
San Miguel 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
18 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 18 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992-06-27 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 1982-06-13 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1981-06-23 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1974-06-03 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1966-06-18 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2025-05-26 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 1.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2025-08-18 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2024-07-05 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2023-10-01 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 1.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2021-06-12 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 4.6 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in San Miguel County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 21, 2022 | Flash Flood | PENDARIES | 3 | 0 | $2.0M |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Major flooding observed along Gallina Creek near Las Vegas. Evacuations ordered for areas along the river from Montezuma east to Las Vegas. A major breach occurred on the Storrie Lake Diversion Channel. An estimated one year supply of water storage was lost for drinking water due to the breach. A Red Cross shelter was established at Robertson High School. An elderly couple was rescued overnight by the National Guard from the Pine Camp area. NM 283 was closed west of Las Vegas. A sink hole was reported near the South Diversion River Crossing Catwalk with damage to waste water components. A couple of homes and numerous vehicles and roadways were damaged. A bridge on CR-A1 near Sapello was closed due to high water. A total of 1,040 structures were damaged in this multi-day event.
Flash flooding from heavy rains closed NM Highway 65 from mile markers 2 to 4 or one mile south of Montezuma where culverts were washed out. Flowing water 1 to 3 feet deep also reported over El Llano Road, Cinder Road, Palo Verde Road and at the intersection of 7th Street and Mills Avenue. Road closures were also reported along State Road 65 at Campus and El Camino, as well as along 8th Street north of Mills Avenue. Robertson Cardinal football field was completely covered in standing water. The Las Vegas Water Treatment Plant also flooded. A mandatory evacuation order was issued at 9:54pm MDT for this area due to the dangerous flooding across Las Vegas to Montezuma. Damage is an estimated given very limited information.
A nearly stationary thunderstorm over El Porvenir produced over two inches of rainfall on this area of the Calf Canyon burn scar. This caused flash flooding on Beaver Creek and Gallinas Creek with significant debris found on Highway 65. The IMET on duty found several locations along Highway 65 that were covered in tree debris, rocks, and mud. Some buildings along the roadway were inundated with a couple of feet of water. The IMET also noted that water had threatened homes in the area as well, but these homes seemed to have been protected with sandbagging. Damages are estimated.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
26,850
Population (ACS)
$189K
Median home value
21
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 10, 2023 | Fire | LAS TUSAS FIRE | FM |
| May 4, 2022 | Fire | WILDFIRES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, FLOODING, MUDFLOWS, AND DEBRIS FLOWS | DR |
| Apr 30, 2022 | Fire | CALF CANYON FIRE | FM |
| Apr 12, 2022 | Fire | HERMIT'S PEAK FIRE | FM |
| Apr 5, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in San Miguel County, New Mexico?
417 events are on record between 1957 and 2025, causing 3 direct deaths and $7.8M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in San Miguel County?
Hail, with 281 recorded events — 67.4% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed San Miguel County?
18 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 18 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover San Miguel County?
21 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include San Miguel County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is San Miguel County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates San Miguel County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 75 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the San Miguel 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
- San Juan County 154
- Santa Fe County 344
- Sandoval County 242
- Sierra County 149
- Roosevelt County 530
- Socorro County 188
Cite this page
“San Miguel County, New Mexico.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/new-mexico/san-miguel-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.