NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Dexter, 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 Dexter, New Mexico since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 45 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 45
- 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 Dexter
The highest rating among the 45 tornadoes within 25 miles is F2 or EF2, reached 3 times; the most recent, on March 12, 2019, came within 3 miles. Of the 45, 2 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 15 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 12. The most recent tornado was on May 6, 2025. Dexter has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 92% of the 94 New Mexico cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 45 times since 1966, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Dexter has more hail reports within 10 miles than 73% of the 94 New Mexico cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Dexter
By decade
- 2020s4
- 2010s4
- 2000s7
- 1990s12
- 1980s4
- 1970s4
- 1960s10
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 12, 2019 | EF2 | 3 mi | 15.19 mi | 0 / 6 |
| Aug 11, 1974 | F2 | 12 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 12, 1962 | F2 | 14 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 8, 2004 | F1 | 11 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 29, 1981 | F1 | 18 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 4, 1967 | F1 | 20 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 31, 1966 | F1 | 6 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 10, 1965 | F1 | 10 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 10, 1965 | F1 | 14 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Apr 4, 1965 | F1 | 24 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 21, 1964 | F1 | 20 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 14, 1961 | F1 | 10 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 2 |
The strongest 12 of 45, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Dexter
The Storm Prediction Center has 45 hail reports within 10 miles of Dexter since 1966, made on 33 separate days. Of these, 31 were 1 inch across or larger, and 6 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3 inches (tea cup size), fell on May 28, 2021. The most recent report is from May 31, 2023. May has the most reports, 19.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Dexter
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Roswell Ind Air Pk, NM, 11 miles northwest of Dexter at 3,649 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 97°F and low of 70°F; December is the coolest, at 57°F and 28°F. July is the wettest at 1.8 inches of precipitation on average and January and February the driest at 0.4 inches; the year adds up to 11.8 inches over 25 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 110 days a year, almost all from April to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 87 nights a year. Snowfall averages 9.6 inches a year, most of it in December. That 11.8 inches is more than at 27 of the 58 New Mexico stations used on this site (47%). Roswell, 17 miles northwest, has its own station (Roswell Climat, NM): 11.7 inches a year, 0.1 less than here, and a July average high of 94°F against 97°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 57 | 28 | 0.4 | 1 | 2.4 |
| Feb | 63 | 33 | 0.4 | 1 | 1.1 |
| Mar | 71 | 39 | 0.5 | 1 | 0.7 |
| Apr | 79 | 47 | 0.6 | 1 | 0.0 |
| May | 88 | 57 | 1.1 | 2 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 96 | 66 | 1.3 | 3 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 97 | 70 | 1.8 | 3 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 95 | 69 | 1.7 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 88 | 61 | 1.6 | 3 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 78 | 49 | 1.3 | 3 | 0.4 |
| Nov | 66 | 36 | 0.5 | 1 | 1.2 |
| Dec | 57 | 28 | 0.6 | 2 | 3.8 |
| Year | 78 | 49 | 11.8 | 25 | 9.6 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Roswell Ind Air Pk, NM (3,649 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 Dexter
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 36 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Dexter: 23 thunderstorm wind reports, 11 flash floods, 1 flood and 1 lightning strike. They killed 1 person and injured 0, and the NWS estimated $2.7 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 91 mph, on June 26, 2024. July has had the most flash floods, 5 of 11. Of the 92 New Mexico cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 48 have had fewer than Dexter.
July 14, 2011: thunderstorm wind 3 miles from the centre of Dexter — 1 killed, $15,000 damage.
NWS: “The roof of a barn collapsed and killed an elderly man.”
May 30, 2021: flash flood 8 miles from the centre of Dexter — $1.0 million damage.
NWS: “S. Highway 285 near Midway with an estimated three to four feet of water over the roadway.”
May 30, 2021: flash flood 4 miles from the centre of Dexter — $500,000 damage.
NWS: “Two to four inches of rainfall in a short period of time caused flash flooding in Dexter with multiple roads flooded. The extent of the damages are unknown and are roughly estimated for the unknown amount of businesses and homes inundated.”
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
Chaves County, which includes Dexter, has been named in 9 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1998, 5 of them major disasters (by incident: 3 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 2 fires, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storm and Flooding, on November 1, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Chaves County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for strong wind and lightning; Relatively Moderate for inland flooding and heat waves; Relatively Low for hail; Very Low for hurricanes and tornadoes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $50.6 million a year, the 3rd highest of 33 New Mexico counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $36.6 million (72%), 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 Dexter
- Hagerman, NM13 mi
- Roswell, NM17 mi
- Artesia, NM31 mi
- Lovington, NM57 mi
- Carlsbad, NM58 mi
- Capitan, NM70 mi
- Ruidoso Downs, NM72 mi
- Alto, NM76 mi
- Hobbs, NM77 mi
- Ruidoso, NM77 mi
- Cloudcroft, NM81 mi
- Mescalero, NM81 mi
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