NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Kirtland, 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 Kirtland, New Mexico since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 10 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 10
- 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 Kirtland
The strongest of the 10 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F2 on May 10, 1957; its path came within 10 miles. Of the 10, none had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 6 have come since 2000. September has had the most tornadoes, 3. The most recent tornado was on March 21, 2020. Kirtland has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 48% of the 94 New Mexico cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 10 times since 1982, 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 Kirtland.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Kirtland
By decade
- 2020s1
- 2010s3
- 2000s2
- 1990s2
- 1960s1
- 1950s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 10, 1957 | F2 | 10 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 5, 1999 | F1 | 25 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 21, 2020 | EF0 | 10 mi | 0.49 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 10, 2015 | EF0 | 20 mi | 0.18 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 18, 2013 | EF0 | 12 mi | 0.15 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 10, 2013 | EF0 | 17 mi | 0.21 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 23, 2000 | F0 | 15 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 23, 2000 | F0 | 15 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 28, 1990 | F0 | 10 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 28, 1963 | F0 | 21 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 10 of 10, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Kirtland
The Storm Prediction Center has 10 hail reports within 10 miles of Kirtland since 1982, made on 8 separate days. Of these, 5 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest, 1.75 inches (golf ball size), fell on June 11, 2015. The most recent report is from June 3, 2018. June has the most reports, 4.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Kirtland
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Fruitland, NM, 2 miles southeast of Kirtland at 5,130 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 92°F and low of 57°F; January is the coolest, at 43°F and 16°F. August and September are the wettest at 1.0 inches of precipitation on average and June the driest at 0.2 inches; the year adds up to 7.2 inches over 23 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 61 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 156 nights a year. Snowfall averages 7.8 inches a year, most of it in February. That 7.2 inches is more than at 0 of the 58 New Mexico stations used on this site (0%). Farmington, 13 miles southeast, has its own station (Farmington Regional Airport, NM): 7.9 inches a year, 0.7 more than here, and a July average high of 93°F against 92°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 43 | 16 | 0.6 | 2 | 1.9 |
| Feb | 51 | 18 | 0.5 | 2 | 2.1 |
| Mar | 60 | 26 | 0.5 | 2 | 0.7 |
| Apr | 68 | 31 | 0.5 | 2 | 0.2 |
| May | 78 | 40 | 0.3 | 1 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 88 | 49 | 0.2 | 1 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 92 | 57 | 0.7 | 2 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 89 | 56 | 1.0 | 3 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 82 | 47 | 1.0 | 2 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 70 | 34 | 0.8 | 2 | 0.5 |
| Nov | 56 | 22 | 0.5 | 2 | 0.9 |
| Dec | 44 | 16 | 0.6 | 2 | 1.5 |
| Year | 68 | 34 | 7.2 | 23 | 7.8 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Fruitland, NM (5,130 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 Kirtland
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 25 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Kirtland: 18 thunderstorm wind reports and 7 flash floods. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $3.7 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 75 mph, on May 20, 2024. June has had the most flash floods, 3 of 7. Of the 92 New Mexico cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 30 have had fewer than Kirtland.
August 21, 2024: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Kirtland — $3.0 million damage.
June 21, 2024: flash flood 7 miles from the centre of Kirtland — $500,000 damage.
NWS: “Multiple reports of flash flooding across Farmington including along the La Plata and San Juan Rivers, including vehicles driving across flooded low water crossings. A video from the emergency manager showed the La Plata River raging and partly out of its banks.”
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
San Juan County, which includes Kirtland, has been named in 11 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1977, 6 of them major disasters (by incident: 4 fires, 2 biological emergencies, 2 floods, 1 drought). The latest major disaster declaration was South Fork Fire, Salt Fire, and Flooding, on June 20, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives San Juan County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for lightning; Relatively Moderate for inland flooding and heat waves; Relatively Low for strong wind; Very Low for tornadoes and hail. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $44.1 million a year, the 7th highest of 33 New Mexico counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $31.1 million (70%), 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 Kirtland
- Fruitland, NM9 mi
- Farmington, NM13 mi
- Flora Vista, NM15 mi
- Aztec, NM23 mi
- Shiprock, NM24 mi
- Hesperus, CO28 mi
- Bloomfield, NM30 mi
- Mancos, CO42 mi
- Cortez, CO42 mi
- Ignacio, CO46 mi
- Durango, CO47 mi
- Dolores, CO52 mi
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