NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Roswell, 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 Roswell, New Mexico since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 44 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 44
- 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 Roswell
The highest rating among the 44 tornadoes within 25 miles is F2 or EF2, reached 3 times; the most recent, on March 12, 2019, came within 18 miles. Of the 44, 11 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 17 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 12. The most recent tornado was on May 6, 2025. Roswell has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 91% of the 94 New Mexico cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 111 times since 1964, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Roswell has more hail reports within 10 miles than 93% of the 94 New Mexico cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Roswell
By decade
- 2020s4
- 2010s6
- 2000s7
- 1990s11
- 1980s3
- 1970s3
- 1960s10
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 12, 2019 | EF2 | 18 mi | 15.19 mi | 0 / 6 |
| Aug 11, 1974 | F2 | 14 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 12, 1962 | F2 | 3 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 8, 2004 | F1 | 12 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 29, 1981 | F1 | 8 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 4, 1967 | F1 | 6 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 31, 1966 | F1 | 12 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 10, 1965 | F1 | 9 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 10, 1965 | F1 | 3 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Sep 21, 1964 | F1 | 6 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 14, 1961 | F1 | 16 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Jun 26, 2024 | EF0 | 24 mi | 1.85 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 44, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Roswell
The Storm Prediction Center has 111 hail reports within 10 miles of Roswell since 1964, made on 71 separate days. Of these, 63 were 1 inch across or larger, and 14 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 3 inches (tea cup size), was reported on 4 days, most recently April 8, 2004. The most recent report is from June 22, 2025. May has the most reports, 49.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Roswell
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Roswell Climat, NM, 3 miles south of Roswell at 3,605 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 94°F and low of 66°F; January is the coolest, at 56°F and 23°F. July is the wettest at 2.0 inches of precipitation on average and January and February the driest at 0.4 inches; the year adds up to 11.7 inches over 24 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 90 days a year, almost all from April to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 115 nights a year. Snowfall averages 9.8 inches a year, most of it in December. That 11.7 inches is more than at 26 of the 58 New Mexico stations used on this site (45%). Dexter, 17 miles southeast, has its own station (Roswell Ind Air Pk, NM): 11.8 inches a year, 0.1 more than here, and a July average high of 97°F against 94°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 56 | 23 | 0.4 | 1 | 1.9 |
| Feb | 61 | 27 | 0.4 | 1 | 1.3 |
| Mar | 69 | 34 | 0.6 | 2 | 0.2 |
| Apr | 76 | 41 | 0.7 | 1 | 0.0 |
| May | 85 | 50 | 1.0 | 2 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 94 | 61 | 0.7 | 2 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 94 | 66 | 2.0 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 92 | 65 | 1.6 | 3 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 84 | 57 | 1.6 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 76 | 44 | 1.5 | 2 | 0.5 |
| Nov | 64 | 31 | 0.6 | 1 | 2.0 |
| Dec | 56 | 23 | 0.6 | 2 | 3.9 |
| Year | 75 | 43 | 11.7 | 24 | 9.8 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Roswell Climat, NM (3,605 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 Roswell
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 79 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Roswell: 57 thunderstorm wind reports, 15 flash floods, 6 floods and 1 lightning strike. They killed 2 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $502.8 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 92 mph, on April 8, 2004. Of the 92 New Mexico cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 57 have had fewer than Roswell.
October 19, 2024: flash flood 2 miles from the centre of Roswell — 2 killed, $500.0 million damage.
NWS: “Historically bad flash flooding across Roswell, reported by numerous emergency officials and the public. 78 at the Roswell Airport with numerous other public weather stations across town ranging from 4 to 9 inches.”
August 17, 1997: thunderstorm wind 4 miles from the centre of Roswell — 1 injured, $750,000 damage.
June 26, 2022: flash flood 2 miles from the centre of Roswell — $500,000 damage.
NWS: “Over three inches of rain in Roswell caused significant flooding on the northeast side of the city. At least twelve homes in the Holly Loop subdividion were flooded, and emergency crews had to divert water through cinder block walls away from the subdivision and onto East Country Club Road.”
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 Roswell's 2 ZIP codes have filed 121 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $7.8 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 2024, with 74. Of the 25 New Mexico cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 21 have fewer than Roswell.
Chaves County, which includes Roswell, has been named in 9 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1998, 5 of them major disasters (by incident: 3 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 2 fires, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storm and Flooding, on November 1, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Chaves County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for strong wind and lightning; Relatively Moderate for inland flooding and heat waves; Relatively Low for hail; Very Low for hurricanes and tornadoes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $50.6 million a year, the 3rd highest of 33 New Mexico counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $36.6 million (72%), 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 Roswell
- Dexter, NM17 mi
- Hagerman, NM28 mi
- Artesia, NM44 mi
- Capitan, NM54 mi
- Ruidoso Downs, NM60 mi
- Alto, NM63 mi
- Ruidoso, NM65 mi
- Mescalero, NM71 mi
- Carlsbad, NM72 mi
- Lovington, NM73 mi
- Cloudcroft, NM74 mi
- Portales, NM86 mi
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