NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Rio Rancho, 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 Rio Rancho, New Mexico since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 22 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 22
- EF3 or stronger
- 0
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
1 deaths in all
What the records show for Rio Rancho
The strongest of the 22 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F2 on October 10, 1974; its path came within 25 miles, and it killed 1 person. Of the 22, 3 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 10 have come since 2000. The most recent tornado was on August 19, 2025. Rio Rancho has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 73% of the 94 New Mexico cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 50 times since 1990, with stones up to 1.5 inches (ping pong ball size). Rio Rancho has more hail reports within 10 miles than 75% of the 94 New Mexico cities.
Compare Rio Rancho's storm record with another city →
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Rio Rancho
By decade
- 2020s6
- 2010s2
- 2000s2
- 1990s3
- 1980s4
- 1970s2
- 1960s1
- 1950s2
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 10, 1974 | F2 | 25 mi | 2 mi | 1 / 8 |
| Sep 13, 1988 | F1 | 6 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 31, 1965 | F1 | 10 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 23, 2021 | EF0 | 6 mi | 0.03 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 15, 2020 | EF0 | 7 mi | 0.01 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 6, 2017 | EF0 | 19 mi | 0.04 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 3, 2011 | EF0 | 24 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 9, 2007 | EF0 | 24 mi | 3.75 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 16, 2005 | F0 | 17 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 20, 1991 | F0 | 3 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 15, 1991 | F0 | 16 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 14, 1990 | F0 | 16 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 22, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Rio Rancho
The Storm Prediction Center has 50 hail reports within 10 miles of Rio Rancho since 1990, made on 28 separate days. Of these, 15 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest, 1.5 inches (ping pong ball size), fell on May 4, 2025, the most recent report. October has the most reports, 13.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Rio Rancho
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Rio Rancho #1, NM, 4 miles east of Rio Rancho at 5,230 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 94°F and low of 63°F; January is the coolest, at 47°F and 22°F. August is the wettest at 1.8 inches of precipitation on average and June the driest at 0.4 inches; the year adds up to 10.4 inches over 26 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 85 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 131 nights a year. Snowfall averages 9.3 inches a year, most of it in December. That 10.4 inches is more than at 18 of the 58 New Mexico stations used on this site (31%). Corrales, 6 miles southeast, has its own station (Rio Rancho #2, NM): 9.6 inches a year, 0.8 less than here, and a July average high of 96°F against 94°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 47 | 22 | 0.5 | 2 | 1.6 |
| Feb | 54 | 25 | 0.5 | 1 | 2.0 |
| Mar | 63 | 32 | 0.5 | 2 | 0.6 |
| Apr | 72 | 39 | 0.6 | 1 | 0.0 |
| May | 80 | 48 | 0.6 | 2 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 92 | 58 | 0.4 | 1 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 94 | 63 | 1.4 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 91 | 61 | 1.8 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 84 | 54 | 1.3 | 3 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 72 | 41 | 1.4 | 3 | 0.6 |
| Nov | 58 | 29 | 0.6 | 1 | 0.7 |
| Dec | 47 | 23 | 0.8 | 2 | 3.8 |
| Year | 71 | 41 | 10.4 | 26 | 9.3 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Rio Rancho #1, NM (5,230 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 Rio Rancho
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 62 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Rio Rancho: 32 thunderstorm wind reports, 27 flash floods, 2 heavy rain events and 1 lightning strike. They killed 8 people and injured 6, and the NWS estimated $2.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 86 mph, on December 1, 2007. July has had the most flash floods, 15 of 27. Of the 92 New Mexico cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 74 have had fewer than Rio Rancho.
July 20, 2021: flash flood 9 miles from the centre of Rio Rancho — 3 killed.
August 18, 2016: heavy rain event 6 miles from the centre of Rio Rancho — 2 killed.
July 4, 2009: lightning strike 2 miles from the centre of Rio Rancho — 1 killed, 6 injured.
NWS: “Jarrod Truesdale, a 26 year old man, was killed by a lightning strike in the parking lot of Rio Rancho High School before a fireworks show. His wife, 26, was also struck and sustained serious injuries.”
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
Sandoval County, which includes Rio Rancho, has been named in 21 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1973, 11 of them major disasters (by incident: 9 fires, 4 floods, 4 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies). 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 Sandoval County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for lightning; Relatively Moderate for hail, inland flooding and heat waves; Relatively Low for strong wind; Very Low for tornadoes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $31.5 million a year, the 11th highest of 33 New Mexico counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $21.0 million (67%), 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 Rio Rancho
- Corrales, NM6 mi
- Bernalillo, NM8 mi
- Albuquerque, NM13 mi
- Placitas, NM13 mi
- Algodones, NM16 mi
- Cedar Crest, NM21 mi
- Jemez Pueblo, NM23 mi
- Sandia Park, NM24 mi
- Santo Domingo Pueblo, NM24 mi
- Tijeras, NM28 mi
- Bosque Farms, NM30 mi
- Edgewood, NM32 mi
All New Mexico cities →All hurricanes since 1851 →Compare Rio Rancho with another place →