NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Grants, 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 Grants, New Mexico since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 1 tornado has touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 1
- 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 Grants
The only tornado within 25 miles was an EF0 on June 3, 2018; its path came within 20 miles. Of the 94 New Mexico cities on this site, 85% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Grants. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 10 times since 1969, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). Of the 94 New Mexico cities, 64% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Grants.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Grants
By decade
- 2010s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 3, 2018 | EF0 | 20 mi | 2.35 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 1 of 1, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Grants
The Storm Prediction Center has 10 hail reports within 10 miles of Grants since 1969, made on 9 separate days. Of these, 6 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest, 1.75 inches (golf ball size), fell on May 15, 2007. The most recent report is from June 21, 2024. June has the most reports, 3.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Grants
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Grants Airport, NM, 3 miles north of Grants at 6,520 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 92°F and low of 55°F; December is the coolest, at 50°F and 14°F. August is the wettest at 1.8 inches of precipitation on average and February and April the driest at 0.4 inches; the year adds up to 9.7 inches over 30 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 59 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 182 nights a year. Snowfall averages 7.9 inches a year, most of it in December. That 9.7 inches is more than at 10 of the 58 New Mexico stations used on this site (17%). Prewitt, 20 miles north, has its own station (Thoreau 12 SE, NM): 12.4 inches a year, 2.7 more than here, and a July average high of 89°F against 92°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 50 | 15 | 0.6 | 2 | 2.2 |
| Feb | 56 | 17 | 0.4 | 1 | 1.2 |
| Mar | 64 | 23 | 0.5 | 1 | 0.5 |
| Apr | 70 | 31 | 0.4 | 2 | 0.3 |
| May | 80 | 39 | 0.5 | 2 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 90 | 48 | 0.5 | 2 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 92 | 55 | 1.7 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 89 | 53 | 1.8 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 84 | 45 | 1.2 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 73 | 32 | 0.8 | 3 | 0.3 |
| Nov | 60 | 21 | 0.7 | 2 | 0.6 |
| Dec | 50 | 14 | 0.6 | 2 | 2.8 |
| Year | 71 | 33 | 9.7 | 30 | 7.9 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Grants Airport, NM (6,520 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 Grants
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 11 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Grants: 6 flash floods, 4 thunderstorm wind reports and 1 flood. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $622,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 68 mph, on May 21, 2018. June has had the most flash floods, 3 of 6. Of the 92 New Mexico cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 25 have had fewer than Grants.
September 13, 2013: flood 4 miles from the centre of Grants — $500,000 damage.
NWS: “Areal flooding developed after flash flooding with continued heavy rainfall. Twenty five to 30 homes were partially under water around Bluewater Village.”
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
Flood insurance policyholders in Grants's ZIP code 87020 have filed 26 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $593,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 2005, with 10. Of the 25 New Mexico cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 11 have fewer than Grants.
Cibola County, which includes Grants, has been named in 9 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 2000, 6 of them major disasters (by incident: 3 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 2 fires, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on April 5, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Cibola County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for lightning; Relatively Moderate for inland flooding; Very Low for tornadoes, hail, strong wind and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $11.5 million a year, the 21st highest of 33 New Mexico counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $8.6 million (75%), 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 Grants
- Milan, NM5 mi
- Prewitt, NM20 mi
- Acoma, NM21 mi
- Paraje, NM26 mi
- Thoreau, NM31 mi
- Laguna, NM39 mi
- Crownpoint, NM45 mi
- Vanderwagen, NM52 mi
- Gamerco, NM59 mi
- Cuba, NM59 mi
- Gallup, NM60 mi
- Mentmore, NM62 mi
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