Union County, New Mexico severe weather history spans 625 recorded events between 1951 and 2026. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 66.6% of all recorded events. It ranks #523 nationally and #4 in New Mexico.
625
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
1
Direct injuries
$6.5M
Property damage
The record
What the Union County, New Mexico severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Union County, New Mexico severe weather history averages 8.3 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 226 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 63 events fall before 1990 and 562 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is hail, with $5.3M in reported property damage. In total, 7 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Union County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 416 | 0 | $5.3M | 3 | 1956–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 110 | 0 | $156K | 63 | 1968–2026 |
| Tornado | 48 | 0 | $803K | F2 | 1951–2024 |
| Flash Flood | 31 | 0 | $260K | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Funnel Cloud | 18 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1996–2023 |
| Flood | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2017–2017 |
| Heavy Rain | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2019–2019 |
Decade by decade
Union 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
45 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 44 touched down inside it and 1 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010-05-23 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 22.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2010-05-23 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 8.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 1972-05-10 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 2.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1965-09-18 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 5.1 mi | Crossed in |
| 2010-05-23 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 4.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 2010-05-23 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 9.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2010-05-23 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 5.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 1979-05-15 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1977-04-19 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 1972-05-10 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 3.6 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Union County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 21, 2018 | Hail | CLAPHAM | 0 | 1 | $5K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Debris on Highway 56 was seen at mile post 93. Power lines were down, barbed wire fences and hay bales were all over. In addition, a steel building from a feed lot was destroyed, a cow with a broken leg was observed on the road, and a semi truck was turned over on private property. The tornado crossed the New Mexico-Oklahoma state line approximately 8.7 miles southeast of Seneca and continued into neighboring Cimarron County, Oklahoma.
A severe thunderstorm in Union county produced hail up to ping-pong ball-size. Windows were broken out of several homes along with damage to roofs and sidings. Hail accumulated to a depth of four to five inches with some drifts nearly a foot deep.
The Southwestern Electric Cooperative reported severe winds having knocked down six power poles along State Highway 56 between mile markers 13 and 14 southwest of Clayton. Power was lost for a few hours. Damage is an estimate.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
4,013
Population (ACS)
$123K
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 7, 2005 | Hurricane | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM |
| May 10, 2000 | Fire | SEVERE FIRE THREATS | EM |
| Jan 29, 1998 | Severe Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM | DR |
| Mar 2, 1977 | Drought | DROUGHT | EM |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Union County, New Mexico?
625 events are on record between 1951 and 2026, causing 0 direct deaths and $6.5M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Union County?
Hail, with 416 recorded events — 66.6% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Union County?
45 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 44 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Union County?
7 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Union County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Union County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Union County as very low risk, placing it in the 12 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Union 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
- Torrance County 245
- Valencia County 104
- Taos County 49
- Socorro County 188
- Sierra County 149
- Santa Fe County 344
Cite this page
“Union County, New Mexico.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/new-mexico/union-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.