NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Portales, 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 Portales, New Mexico since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 92 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 1 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 92
- EF3 or stronger
- 1
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
2 deaths in all
What the records show for Portales
The strongest of the 92 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F3 on May 21, 1963; its path came within 19 miles. The deadliest, an EF2 on March 23, 2007, killed 2 people. Of the 92, 13 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 26 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 41. The most recent tornado was on June 5, 2025. Portales has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 97% of the 94 New Mexico cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 132 times since 1956, with stones up to 4.5 inches (grapefruit size). Portales has more hail reports within 10 miles than 95% of the 94 New Mexico cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Portales
By decade
- 2020s6
- 2010s7
- 2000s13
- 1990s15
- 1980s7
- 1970s13
- 1960s21(1 EF3+)
- 1950s10
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 21, 1963 | F3 | 19 mi | 5.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 23, 2007 | EF2 | 11 mi | 12.45 mi | 2 / 33 |
| May 26, 2019 | EF2 | 14 mi | 9.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 27, 1992 | F2 | 24 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 7, 1972 | F2 | 7 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 25, 1965 | F2 | 14 mi | 10.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 12, 1964 | F2 | 23 mi | 8.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 12, 1964 | F2 | 23 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 11, 1964 | F2 | 20 mi | 23.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 24, 1957 | F2 | 22 mi | 36.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 21, 1957 | F2 | 23 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 25, 2025 | EF1 | 11 mi | 5.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 92, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Portales
The Storm Prediction Center has 132 hail reports within 10 miles of Portales since 1956, made on 90 separate days. Of these, 86 were 1 inch across or larger, and 9 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4.5 inches (grapefruit size), fell on June 12, 2012. The most recent report is from August 11, 2025. May has the most reports, 54.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Portales
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Portales, NM, in Portales at 4,010 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 93°F and low of 66°F; January is the coolest, at 55°F and 26°F. August is the wettest at 2.9 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 0.4 inches; the year adds up to 16.1 inches over 32 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 85 days a year, almost all from April to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 104 nights a year. Snowfall averages 7.6 inches a year, most of it in December. That 16.1 inches is more than at 49 of the 58 New Mexico stations used on this site (84%). Clovis, 20 miles north, has its own station (Clovis, NM): 20.0 inches a year, 3.9 more than here, and a July average high of 92°F against 93°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 55 | 26 | 0.5 | 1 | 1.7 |
| Feb | 61 | 29 | 0.4 | 1 | 1.4 |
| Mar | 69 | 35 | 0.7 | 2 | 0.7 |
| Apr | 77 | 43 | 0.7 | 2 | 0.2 |
| May | 85 | 53 | 1.5 | 3 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 93 | 62 | 2.1 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 93 | 66 | 2.3 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 91 | 65 | 2.9 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 85 | 57 | 1.9 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 76 | 45 | 1.8 | 3 | 0.3 |
| Nov | 63 | 33 | 0.6 | 1 | 0.5 |
| Dec | 55 | 26 | 0.7 | 2 | 2.8 |
| Year | 75 | 45 | 16.1 | 32 | 7.6 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Portales, NM (4,010 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 Portales
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 50 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Portales: 32 thunderstorm wind reports, 15 flash floods, 2 floods and 1 heavy rain event. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $2.4 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on June 13, 2003. August has had the most flash floods, 5 of 15. Of the 92 New Mexico cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 57 have had fewer than Portales.
August 3, 2017: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Portales — $1.4 million damage.
NWS: “Straight line wind gusts estimated up to 85 mph tore the roofs of several buildings three miles south of Portales. Hail and high winds also damaged vehicles in the area.”
August 30, 1996: thunderstorm wind 3 miles from the centre of Portales — $300,000 damage.
May 15, 2021: flash flood 2 miles from the centre of Portales — $250,000 damage.
NWS: “Slow-moving thunderstorms in the Portales area produced three to four inches of rainfall in a short period of time. This led to flash flooding in the area where a trained spotter reported some roadways were under 2 feet of water.”
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 Portales's ZIP code 88130 have filed 30 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1981, and were paid $322,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. Of the 25 New Mexico cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 12 have fewer than Portales.
Roosevelt County, which includes Portales, has been named in 7 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1977, 2 of them major disasters (by incident: 2 biological emergencies, 2 fires, 1 drought, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on April 5, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Roosevelt County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for hail, inland flooding and strong wind; Relatively Low for tornadoes, lightning and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $45.0 million a year, the 6th highest of 33 New Mexico counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $20.3 million (45%), 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 Portales
- Clovis, NM20 mi
- Farwell, TX30 mi
- Muleshoe, TX32 mi
- Friona, TX48 mi
- Dimmitt, TX61 mi
- Littlefield, TX61 mi
- Levelland, TX66 mi
- Olton, TX69 mi
- Tucumcari, NM69 mi
- Hereford, TX71 mi
- Shallowater, TX82 mi
- Hale Center, TX83 mi
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