NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Ruidoso, 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 Ruidoso, New Mexico since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 10 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 10
- 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 Ruidoso
The highest rating among the 10 tornadoes within 25 miles is F1, reached 3 times; the most recent, on May 16, 1987, came within 19 miles. Of the 10, 2 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 7 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 5. The most recent tornado was on July 9, 2024. Ruidoso has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 48% of the 94 New Mexico cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 33 times since 1965, with stones up to 2 inches (hen egg size). Ruidoso has more hail reports within 10 miles than 67% of the 94 New Mexico cities.
Compare Ruidoso's storm record with another city →
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Ruidoso
By decade
- 2020s1
- 2010s5
- 2000s1
- 1980s1
- 1970s1
- 1950s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 16, 1987 | F1 | 19 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 17, 1972 | F1 | 5 mi | 6.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 3, 1959 | F1 | 24 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 8, 2019 | EF0 | 19 mi | 0.03 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 9, 2017 | EF0 | 25 mi | 0.07 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 26, 2015 | EF0 | 6 mi | 0.21 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 14, 2010 | EF0 | 7 mi | 0.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 5, 2003 | F0 | 6 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 9, 2024 | Unrated | 2 mi | 0.55 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 23, 2018 | Unrated | 25 mi | 2.22 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 10 of 10, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Ruidoso
The Storm Prediction Center has 33 hail reports within 10 miles of Ruidoso since 1965, made on 25 separate days. Of these, 13 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2 inches (hen egg size), fell on June 19, 2024, the most recent report. July has the most reports, 14.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Ruidoso
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Ruidoso, NM, 1 mile north of Ruidoso at 6,930 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 81°F and low of 51°F; January is the coolest, at 49°F and 21°F. July is the wettest at 4.3 inches of precipitation on average and April the driest at 0.7 inches; the year adds up to 22.0 inches over 53 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 6 days a year, almost all from June to July. Lows fall below freezing on about 156 nights a year. Snowfall averages 26.2 inches a year, most of it in January. That 22.0 inches is more than at 56 of the 58 New Mexico stations used on this site (97%). Mescalero, 14 miles south, has its own station (Cloudcroft, NM): 28.5 inches a year, 6.5 more than here, and a July average high of 72°F against 81°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 49 | 21 | 1.1 | 3 | 7.9 |
| Feb | 51 | 23 | 1.0 | 3 | 5.5 |
| Mar | 58 | 27 | 0.9 | 3 | 2.2 |
| Apr | 65 | 33 | 0.7 | 2 | 0.6 |
| May | 73 | 40 | 1.2 | 2 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 82 | 47 | 2.1 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 81 | 51 | 4.3 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 79 | 50 | 4.2 | 10 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 75 | 44 | 2.5 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 67 | 35 | 1.7 | 4 | 1.0 |
| Nov | 56 | 26 | 0.8 | 3 | 1.8 |
| Dec | 48 | 22 | 1.5 | 4 | 7.2 |
| Year | 65 | 35 | 22.0 | 53 | 26.2 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Ruidoso, NM (6,930 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 Ruidoso
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 88 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Ruidoso: 80 flash floods, 3 heavy rain events, 3 thunderstorm wind reports and 2 floods. They killed 1 person and injured 0, and the NWS estimated $28.5 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 64 mph, on May 14, 2019. July has had the most flash floods, 37 of 80. Of the 92 New Mexico cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 90 have had fewer than Ruidoso.
July 26, 2008: flood 3 miles from the centre of Ruidoso — 1 killed, $25.0 million damage.
NWS: “Widespread, serious flooding occurred from the upper canyon of the Rio Ruidoso downstream through the towns of Ruidoso, Hollywood and Ruidoso Downs as far east as Fox Caves. Flooding also occurred along the Rio Bonito from the dam at Bonito Lake downstream to State Road 48.”
July 6, 2021: flash flood 2 miles from the centre of Ruidoso — $750,000 damage.
NWS: “Heavy rain along the Rio Ruidoso caused water to overflow its banks which resulted in flash flooding alongside the river. Several bridges, such as the Main Road Bridge, Gavilan Canyon Bridge, and the Eagle Bridge were overtopped and damaged.”
July 10, 2024: flash flood 3 miles from the centre of Ruidoso — $750,000 damage.
NWS: “Multiple rounds of heavy rainfall from thunderstorms impacted the South Fork and Salt Fire burn scars for a second day in a row. This resulted in exacerbated flash flooding and debris flow in the same locations along the Rio Ruidoso.”
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 Ruidoso's 2 ZIP codes have filed 238 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $16.1 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from 2025 July NM Flooding in 2025: 57 claims (24% of all) and $6.6 million. The year with the most claims was 2024, with 81. 24% of the claims carry the name of a storm or flood event; the rest have no event name. Of the 25 New Mexico cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 24 have fewer than Ruidoso.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 July NM Flooding2025 | 57 | $6.6 million |
Lincoln County, which includes Ruidoso, has been named in 35 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 18 of them major disasters (by incident: 17 fires, 9 floods, 6 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides, on July 22, 2025. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Lincoln County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for lightning; Relatively Moderate for inland flooding; Relatively Low for hail; Very Low for hurricanes, tornadoes, strong wind and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $27.8 million a year, the 12th highest of 33 New Mexico counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $11.9 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.