NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Las Cruces, 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
1 tropical system has passed within 75 miles of Las Cruces, New Mexico since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1929. Since 1950, 8 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 1
- Tornadoes
- 8
- 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 Las Cruces
None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Las Cruces; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1929, a tropical storm with 44 mph winds when its centre passed 28 miles away. Las Cruces is tied for the most tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles among the 94 New Mexico cities on this site. The highest rating among the 8 tornadoes within 25 miles is F1, reached 2 times; the most recent, on July 28, 1989, came within 25 miles. Of the 8, one had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 4 have come since 2000. The most recent tornado was on May 2, 2007. Of the 94 New Mexico cities, 55% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Las Cruces. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 69 times since 1956, with stones up to 2.25 inches. Las Cruces has more hail reports within 10 miles than 82% of the 94 New Mexico cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Las Cruces
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1929 | Unnamed 1929 stormJun 30 | 28 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 1 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Las Cruces: a hurricane's worst winds sit within a few dozen miles of its centre, and inland cities are usually past that.
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Las Cruces
By decade
- 2000s4
- 1980s2
- 1960s1
- 1950s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 28, 1989 | F1 | 25 mi | 4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 29, 1959 | F1 | 21 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 2, 2007 | EF0 | 22 mi | 8.38 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 13, 2006 | F0 | 8 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 2, 2002 | F0 | 19 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 19, 2001 | F0 | 2 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 22, 1988 | F0 | 16 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 7, 1966 | F0 | 19 mi | 0.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 8 of 8, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Las Cruces
The Storm Prediction Center has 69 hail reports within 10 miles of Las Cruces since 1956, made on 36 separate days. Of these, 46 were 1 inch across or larger, and 3 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.25 inches, fell on June 15, 1969. The most recent report is from July 31, 2020. October has the most reports, 21.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Las Cruces
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is State Univ, NM, 4 miles south of Las Cruces at 3,886 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 96°F and low of 69°F; December is the coolest, at 58°F and 30°F. July is the wettest at 1.8 inches of precipitation on average and April the driest at 0.2 inches; the year adds up to 9.2 inches over 22 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 109 days a year, almost all from April to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 69 nights a year. Snowfall averages 1.0 inches a year, most of it in January and December. That 9.2 inches is more than at 6 of the 58 New Mexico stations used on this site (10%). Vado, 17 miles southeast, has its own station (La Tuna 1 S, TX): 9.0 inches a year, 0.2 less than here, and a July average high of 94°F against 96°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 59 | 30 | 0.5 | 2 | 0.4 |
| Feb | 64 | 34 | 0.4 | 1 | 0.1 |
| Mar | 71 | 39 | 0.3 | 1 | 0.0 |
| Apr | 79 | 46 | 0.2 | 1 | 0.0 |
| May | 87 | 54 | 0.4 | 1 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 96 | 64 | 0.7 | 1 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 96 | 69 | 1.8 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 94 | 68 | 1.7 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 88 | 61 | 1.4 | 3 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 80 | 48 | 0.8 | 2 | 0.1 |
| Nov | 68 | 37 | 0.4 | 1 | 0.0 |
| Dec | 58 | 30 | 0.6 | 2 | 0.4 |
| Year | 78 | 48 | 9.2 | 22 | 1.0 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at State Univ, NM (3,886 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 Las Cruces
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 62 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Las Cruces: 34 thunderstorm wind reports, 22 flash floods, 5 heavy rain events and 1 lightning strike. They killed 0 people and injured 6, and the NWS estimated $1.6 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 92 mph, on July 11, 2021. July has had the most flash floods, 7 of 22. Of the 92 New Mexico cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 70 have had fewer than Las Cruces.
August 19, 2014: lightning strike 4 miles from the centre of Las Cruces — 6 injured.
NWS: “Six people, including several middle school football players were injured from the initial lightning strike from a nearby thunderstorm. No fatalities occurred with this lightning strike, but one student who was closest to the strike suffered significant injuries and was in the hospital for over a week.”
September 6, 2005: flash flood 3 miles from the centre of Las Cruces — $1.0 million damage.
NWS: “Major flooding occurred across most of the Las Cruces area as a thunderstorm complex dropped heavy rain during a 3 hour time frame. Rainfall reports were widespread 2 to 3 inches with isolated amounts around 4 inches.”
August 23, 2020: thunderstorm wind 4 miles from the centre of Las Cruces — $100,000 damage.
NWS: “Numerous trees and power poles down in northeast Las Cruces. At 8 am the following day, 500 customers were still without electricity.”
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 Las Cruces's 7 ZIP codes have filed 116 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $893,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 2006, with 12. Of the 25 New Mexico cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 19 have fewer than Las Cruces.
Doña Ana County, which includes Las Cruces, has been named in 10 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1972, 7 of them major disasters (by incident: 3 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 2 fires, 2 severe storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides, on July 22, 2025. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Doña Ana County a Relatively High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for lightning; Relatively High for hail and inland flooding; Relatively Moderate for strong wind and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes and tornadoes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $163.6 million a year, the highest of 33 New Mexico counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $133.2 million (81%), 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 Las Cruces
- La Mesa, NM14 mi
- Mesquite, NM14 mi
- Vado, NM17 mi
- Anthony, NM26 mi
- Anthony, TX27 mi
- Hatch, NM30 mi
- Canutillo, TX30 mi
- Chaparral, NM30 mi
- Santa Teresa, NM32 mi
- Sunland Park, NM39 mi
- Fort Bliss, TX44 mi
- El Paso, TX45 mi
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