NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Los Alamos, 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 Los Alamos, New Mexico since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 9 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 9
- 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 Los Alamos
The highest rating among the 9 tornadoes within 25 miles is F1, reached 2 times; the most recent, on April 15, 1971, came within 23 miles. Of the 9, none had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 5 have come since 2000. The most recent tornado was on May 11, 2024. Of the 94 New Mexico cities on this site, 51% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Los Alamos. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 44 times since 1961, with stones up to 2 inches (hen egg size). Los Alamos has more hail reports within 10 miles than 71% of the 94 New Mexico cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Los Alamos
By decade
- 2020s2
- 2010s3
- 1990s1
- 1970s1
- 1960s1
- 1950s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 15, 1971 | F1 | 23 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 26, 1966 | F1 | 17 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 17, 2021 | EF0 | 23 mi | 1.74 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 21, 2018 | EF0 | 9 mi | 3.84 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 9, 2017 | EF0 | 21 mi | 0.31 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 24, 2012 | EF0 | 22 mi | 0.04 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 29, 1991 | F0 | 23 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 15, 1959 | F0 | 20 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 11, 2024 | Unrated | 16 mi | 0.25 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 9 of 9, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Los Alamos
The Storm Prediction Center has 44 hail reports within 10 miles of Los Alamos since 1961, made on 26 separate days. Of these, 26 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2 inches (hen egg size), fell on July 10, 1961. The most recent report is from June 25, 2025. July has the most reports, 14.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Los Alamos
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Los Alamos, NM, 2 miles west of Los Alamos at 7,424 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 83°F and low of 57°F; January is the coolest, at 40°F and 21°F. August is the wettest at 3.2 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 0.7 inches; the year adds up to 17.5 inches over 45 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 5 days a year, almost all from June to July. Lows fall below freezing on about 150 nights a year. Snowfall averages 42.1 inches a year, most of it in January. That 17.5 inches is more than at 52 of the 58 New Mexico stations used on this site (90%). Espanola, 15 miles northeast, has its own station (Alcalde, NM): 11.2 inches a year, 6.3 less than here, and a July average high of 88°F against 83°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 40 | 21 | 0.9 | 2 | 9.9 |
| Feb | 45 | 24 | 0.7 | 3 | 8.8 |
| Mar | 53 | 30 | 1.0 | 3 | 5.9 |
| Apr | 61 | 35 | 0.9 | 2 | 3.3 |
| May | 70 | 44 | 1.2 | 3 | 0.1 |
| Jun | 81 | 54 | 1.2 | 3 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 83 | 57 | 2.9 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 80 | 55 | 3.2 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 74 | 49 | 2.0 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 63 | 38 | 1.6 | 4 | 1.7 |
| Nov | 50 | 28 | 1.0 | 2 | 4.4 |
| Dec | 40 | 21 | 0.9 | 3 | 8.0 |
| Year | 62 | 38 | 17.5 | 45 | 42.1 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Los Alamos, NM (7,424 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 Los Alamos
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 29 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Los Alamos: 20 flash floods, 6 thunderstorm wind reports, 2 floods and 1 lightning strike. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $11.4 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 79 mph, on September 17, 2024. July has had the most flash floods, 9 of 20. Of the 92 New Mexico cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 65 have had fewer than Los Alamos.
August 21, 2011: flash flood 7 miles from the centre of Los Alamos — $6.0 million damage.
NWS: “5 inches of rain fell on the northern portion of the Las Conchas burn scar, flash flooding was reported in Santa Clara Canyon. Four people that were working in the canyon had to be rescued by helicopter.”
August 21, 2011: flash flood 5 miles from the centre of Los Alamos — $4.8 million damage.
NWS: “Major flash flooding ensued after an estimated 3 to 4 inches of rain fell across the southern portion of the Las Conchas burn scar. Flooding in Frijoles Creek caused damage in and around Bandelier National Monument.”
September 13, 2013: flash flood 7 miles from the centre of Los Alamos — $500,000 damage.
NWS: “Worst flash flood event ever recorded at Bandelier National Monument as the creek near the visitor center crested to 11 feet at 830am. Several points of infrastructure were damaged.”
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
Los Alamos County, which includes Los Alamos, has been named in 10 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 2000, 6 of them major disasters (by incident: 4 fires, 3 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Wildfires, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Mudflows, and Debris Flows, on May 4, 2022. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Los Alamos County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for lightning; Very Low for tornadoes, hail, inland flooding, strong wind and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $5.3 million a year, the 28th highest of 33 New Mexico counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $2.9 million (55%), 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 Los Alamos
- Espanola, NM15 mi
- Hernandez, NM17 mi
- Ohkay Owingeh, NM19 mi
- Alcalde, NM21 mi
- Chimayo, NM22 mi
- Santo Domingo Pueblo, NM25 mi
- Santa Fe, NM26 mi
- Jemez Pueblo, NM30 mi
- Algodones, NM34 mi
- Placitas, NM40 mi
- Pecos, NM40 mi
- Bernalillo, NM40 mi
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