NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Raton, 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 Raton, New Mexico since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 18 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 1 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 18
- EF3 or stronger
- 1
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
1 deaths in all
What the records show for Raton
The strongest of the 18 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F3 on May 29, 1964; its path came within 20 miles, and it killed 1 person. Of the 18, none had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 9 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 6. The most recent tornado was on May 28, 2021. Raton has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 70% of the 94 New Mexico cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 63 times since 1956, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). Raton has more hail reports within 10 miles than 79% of the 94 New Mexico cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Raton
By decade
- 2020s2
- 2010s4
- 2000s3
- 1990s4
- 1980s1
- 1970s1
- 1960s2(1 EF3+)
- 1950s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 29, 1964 | F3 | 20 mi | 3 mi | 1 / 8 |
| Jun 10, 1983 | F1 | 22 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 16, 1965 | F1 | 21 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 28, 2021 | EF0 | 24 mi | 0.56 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 28, 2021 | EF0 | 23 mi | 0.52 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 10, 2017 | EF0 | 15 mi | 1.66 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 13, 2016 | EF0 | 24 mi | 0.01 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 8, 2014 | EF0 | 21 mi | 1.08 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 6, 2014 | EF0 | 21 mi | 0.85 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 16, 2004 | F0 | 9 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 4, 2003 | F0 | 17 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 13, 2001 | F0 | 18 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 18, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Raton
The Storm Prediction Center has 63 hail reports within 10 miles of Raton since 1956, made on 52 separate days. Of these, 42 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest size, 1.75 inches (golf ball size), was reported on 7 days, most recently August 10, 2025. The most recent report is from August 10, 2025. June has the most reports, 28.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Raton
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Raton Municipal Crews Airport, NM, 7 miles southwest of Raton at 6,349 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 87°F and low of 54°F; December is the coolest, at 46°F and 14°F. July is the wettest at 2.6 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 0.3 inches; the year adds up to 13.8 inches over 33 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 34 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 177 nights a year. That 13.8 inches is more than at 38 of the 58 New Mexico stations used on this site (66%). Trinidad, CO, 28 miles north, has its own station (Trinidad, CO): 14.8 inches a year, 1.0 more than here, and a July average high of 88°F against 87°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 47 | 14 | 0.4 | 1 |
| Feb | 50 | 18 | 0.3 | 1 |
| Mar | 58 | 23 | 0.8 | 3 |
| Apr | 65 | 31 | 1.0 | 3 |
| May | 74 | 40 | 1.1 | 3 |
| Jun | 84 | 49 | 1.7 | 4 |
| Jul | 87 | 54 | 2.6 | 5 |
| Aug | 85 | 53 | 2.3 | 5 |
| Sep | 78 | 45 | 1.8 | 4 |
| Oct | 68 | 34 | 0.9 | 2 |
| Nov | 55 | 22 | 0.5 | 1 |
| Dec | 46 | 14 | 0.4 | 1 |
| Year | 66 | 33 | 13.8 | 33 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Raton Municipal Crews Airport, NM (6,349 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 Raton
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 43 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Raton: 38 thunderstorm wind reports, 3 flash floods, 1 flood and 1 heavy rain event. They killed 0 people and injured 3, and the NWS estimated $1.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on June 27, 2023.
July 25, 2013: flash flood 8 miles from the centre of Raton — 3 injured, $10,000 damage.
NWS: “Trained Spotter relayed video of flooding beneath a prominent underpass in north Raton. A woman drove her car with 2 children into water and became submerged and had to be rescued by officials.”
September 12, 2013: flood 8 miles from the centre of Raton — $1.0 million damage.
NWS: “A bridge was washed away northeast of Maxwell near county road A-7 with severe bank erosion along the Canadian River. A large culvert was washed out south of the Raton Crews Airport along county road A-6.”
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
Colfax County, which includes Raton, has been named in 18 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 7 of them major disasters (by incident: 9 fires, 3 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 2 severe storms). 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 Colfax County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for lightning; Relatively Low for hail, inland flooding and strong wind; Very Low for tornadoes and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $12.6 million a year, the 19th highest of 33 New Mexico counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $5.4 million (43%), 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 Raton
- Trinidad, CO28 mi
- Walsenburg, CO62 mi
- Questa, NM66 mi
- Clayton, NM70 mi
- Taos, NM71 mi
- El Prado, NM71 mi
- Ranchos De Taos, NM77 mi
- Las Vegas, NM91 mi
- Alamosa, CO93 mi
- Rocky Ford, CO94 mi
- La Junta, CO96 mi
- Pueblo, CO102 mi
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