Torrance County, New Mexico severe weather history spans 245 recorded events between 1957 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 53.5% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,137 nationally and #17 in New Mexico.
245
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
13
Direct injuries
$2.0M
Property damage
The record
What the Torrance County, New Mexico severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Torrance County, New Mexico severe weather history averages 3.6 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 83 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 18 events fall before 1990 and 227 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is hail, with $1.4M 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 Torrance County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 131 | 0 | $1.4M | 3.5 | 1959–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 49 | 0 | $309K | 87 | 1966–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 27 | 0 | $308K | 0 | 1997–2025 |
| Tornado | 18 | 0 | $310 | F0 | 1957–2024 |
| Funnel Cloud | 13 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1997–2018 |
| Lightning | 3 | 0 | $12K | 0 | 2013–2020 |
| Dust Devil | 2 | 0 | $5K | 0 | 2009–2013 |
| Flood | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2013–2013 |
| Heavy Rain | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2014–2014 |
Decade by decade
Torrance 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
19 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 19 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-09-21 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 1.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2023-05-26 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 1.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 2019-06-17 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 1.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2019-06-02 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 4.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 2018-05-21 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2018-06-03 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 2.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 2017-05-09 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 4.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 2016-07-17 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2014-06-21 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1996-07-30 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Torrance County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 25, 2017 | Hail | (CQC)CLINES CORNERS | 0 | 10 | $1.0M |
| Jul 24, 2013 | Lightning | MORIARTY | 0 | 2 | $10K |
| Apr 5, 2014 | Lightning | MORIARTY | 0 | 1 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A major hail storm struck Interstate 40 at State Road 3 producing significant damage and impacts to travel. Hail up to the size of tennis balls slammed the Interstate. Numerous vehicles had windshields smashed out. Traffic was stopped for over two hours. Emergency response personnel attended to several stranded vehicles with injured motorists. Hail was up to five inches deep and flooding was reported along highway.
One to two inches of heavy rainfall caused flash flooding in Moriarty. Torrance County Dispatch reported torrential rainfall with a severe thunderstorm crossing Interstate 40 near Moriarty. Visibility was near zero which forced many travelers to pull off the road. Several Moriarty residents reported flood damage from the heavy rainfall. The water continued to flow southward through McIntosh and even caused Estancia Park Lake to overfill its banks. The extent of damages is unknown, therefore, damage amounts are a rough estimate.
A trained spotter near Corona reported baseball size hail from a severe thunderstorm tracking north-northeast through the area. The spotter reported that their front and rear windshields on their truck were broken as well as their rearview mirrors. Other reports of damage to about 100 vehicles was received although the extent of the damage is not known. A horse trailer also sustained damage while a horse lost one of its eyes due to hail injuries. Damages are estimated for extensive vehicle damage.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
15,490
Population (ACS)
$160K
Median home value
14
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 2, 2023 | Fire | ECHO RIDGE FIRE, NM FMAG | FM |
| Apr 5, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Jun 16, 2016 | Fire | DOG HEAD FIRE | FM |
| Oct 29, 2013 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, AND MUDSLIDES | DR |
| Jun 25, 2008 | Fire | BIG SPRINGS FIRE | FM |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Torrance County, New Mexico?
245 events are on record between 1957 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $2.0M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Torrance County?
Hail, with 131 recorded events — 53.5% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Torrance County?
19 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 19 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Torrance County?
14 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Torrance County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Torrance County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Torrance County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 46 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Torrance 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
- Taos County 49
- Union County 625
- Socorro County 188
- Valencia County 104
- Sierra County 149
- Santa Fe County 344
Cite this page
“Torrance County, New Mexico.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/new-mexico/torrance-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.