NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Clayton, NM
Every tropical system within 75 miles since 1851 and every tornado within 25 miles since 1950.
Data: NOAA NHC HURDAT2 and NOAA SPC tornado and hail reports, through 2025 · Updated
No tropical storm or hurricane has passed within 75 miles of Clayton, New Mexico since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 40 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 40
- EF3 or stronger
- 0
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
no recorded deaths
What the records show for Clayton
The highest rating among the 40 tornadoes within 25 miles is F2 or EF2, reached 4 times; the most recent, on May 23, 2010, came within 5 miles. Of the 40, 3 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 17 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 20. The most recent tornado was on June 8, 2025. Clayton has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 90% of the 94 New Mexico cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 89 times since 1956, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Clayton has more hail reports within 10 miles than 91% of the 94 New Mexico cities.
Compare Clayton's storm record with another city →
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Clayton
By decade
- 2020s4
- 2010s12
- 2000s1
- 1990s4
- 1980s4
- 1970s3
- 1960s11
- 1950s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 23, 2010 | EF2 | 12 mi | 8.82 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 23, 2010 | EF2 | 5 mi | 21.96 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 18, 1965 | F2 | 6 mi | 5.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 5, 1961 | F2 | 25 mi | 28.5 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 16, 2016 | EF1 | 21 mi | 0.87 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 23, 2010 | EF1 | 15 mi | 9.33 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 23, 2010 | EF1 | 7 mi | 4.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 25, 1996 | F1 | 12 mi | 4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 30, 1988 | F1 | 23 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 19, 1977 | F1 | 8 mi | 0.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 17, 1962 | F1 | 11 mi | 15.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 5, 1961 | F1 | 12 mi | 12 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 40, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Clayton
The Storm Prediction Center has 89 hail reports within 10 miles of Clayton since 1956, made on 64 separate days. Of these, 62 were 1 inch across or larger, and 7 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 3 inches (tea cup size), was reported on 2 days, most recently May 26, 2019. The most recent report is from September 17, 2025. May has the most reports, 25.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Clayton
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Clayton 1 N, NM, 5 miles north of Clayton at 5,000 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 90°F and low of 58°F; January is the coolest, at 50°F and 18°F. July is the wettest at 3.3 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 0.3 inches; the year adds up to 18.0 inches over 37 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 55 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 141 nights a year. Snowfall averages 18.8 inches a year, most of it in December. That 18.0 inches is more than at 54 of the 58 New Mexico stations used on this site (93%). Dalhart, TX, 40 miles southeast, has its own station (Dalhart Municipal Airport, TX): 15.6 inches a year, 2.4 less than here, and a July average high of 94°F against 90°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 50 | 18 | 0.6 | 1 | 3.1 |
| Feb | 53 | 20 | 0.3 | 1 | 2.5 |
| Mar | 61 | 27 | 0.9 | 2 | 3.9 |
| Apr | 69 | 35 | 1.4 | 3 | 0.7 |
| May | 78 | 44 | 2.1 | 4 | 0.4 |
| Jun | 87 | 53 | 2.2 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 90 | 58 | 3.3 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 88 | 57 | 2.9 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 81 | 50 | 1.9 | 3 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 71 | 38 | 1.2 | 3 | 1.2 |
| Nov | 58 | 26 | 0.6 | 2 | 2.0 |
| Dec | 49 | 19 | 0.6 | 2 | 5.0 |
| Year | 70 | 37 | 18.0 | 37 | 18.8 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Clayton 1 N, NM (5,000 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals. Normals describe the station; the farther a place is from it, and the bigger the difference in height, the more its weather can differ.
Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Clayton
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 53 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Clayton: 50 thunderstorm wind reports and 3 flash floods. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $96,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 72 mph, on November 2, 2014.
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, events whose starting point is on record, 1996 to June 30, 2026. Damage is the NWS estimate in the dollars of the year, not insured losses, and NWS notes that some reports are unverified.
Flood insurance claims, disaster declarations and FEMA risk ratings
Union County, which includes Clayton, has been named in 7 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1973, 3 of them major disasters (by incident: 2 biological emergencies, 1 drought, 1 fire, 1 flood). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on April 5, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Union County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for hail and lightning; Very Low for tornadoes, inland flooding, strong wind and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $3.6 million a year, the 29th highest of 33 New Mexico counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $666,000 (19%), is from inland flooding.
Claims: FEMA, OpenFEMA Dataset FIMA NFIP Redacted Claims – v3, summed over ZIP codes; payments in the dollars of each year, not adjusted for inflation. Declarations: Disaster Declarations Summaries – v2, by county. Retrieved October 25, 2026. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
Risk ratings: FEMA, National Risk Index county table, December 2025 (v1.20), retrieved October 26, 2026; ratings compare counties nationwide, are meant for planning and are no substitute for a local risk assessment. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Risk Index dataset API or downloadable datasets but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
What counts as a pass, the distances and the sources: how this storm history is built.
Cities near Clayton
- Dalhart, TX40 mi
- Raton, NM70 mi
- Cactus, TX72 mi
- Dumas, TX78 mi
- Sunray, TX84 mi
- Trinidad, CO89 mi
- Tucumcari, NM94 mi
- Gruver, TX96 mi
- Guymon, OK99 mi
- Fritch, TX104 mi
- La Junta, CO112 mi
- Amarillo, TX113 mi
All New Mexico cities →All hurricanes since 1851 →Compare Clayton with another place →