NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Santa Fe, 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 Santa Fe, New Mexico since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 15 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 15
- 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 Santa Fe
The highest rating among the 15 tornadoes within 25 miles is F1, reached 2 times; the most recent, on April 15, 1971, came within 3 miles. Of the 15, 3 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 8 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 4. The most recent tornado was on July 13, 2021. Santa Fe has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 65% of the 94 New Mexico cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 69 times since 1963, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). Santa Fe has more hail reports within 10 miles than 82% of the 94 New Mexico cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Santa Fe
By decade
- 2020s2
- 2010s4
- 2000s2
- 1990s2
- 1970s2
- 1960s2
- 1950s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 15, 1971 | F1 | 3 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 26, 1966 | F1 | 18 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 13, 2021 | EF0 | 21 mi | 0.17 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 17, 2021 | EF0 | 22 mi | 1.74 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 21, 2018 | EF0 | 20 mi | 3.84 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 9, 2017 | EF0 | 6 mi | 0.31 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 12, 2012 | EF0 | 16 mi | 5.78 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 24, 2012 | EF0 | 5 mi | 0.04 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 17, 2008 | EF0 | 7 mi | 0.64 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 9, 2007 | EF0 | 19 mi | 3.75 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 29, 1991 | F0 | 5 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 15, 1990 | F0 | 18 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 15, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Santa Fe
The Storm Prediction Center has 69 hail reports within 10 miles of Santa Fe since 1963, made on 37 separate days. Of these, 39 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest, 1.75 inches (golf ball size), fell on June 29, 1995. The most recent report is from May 26, 2025. May has the most reports, 24.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Santa Fe
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Santa Fe Seton, NM, 1 mile southeast of Santa Fe at 7,000 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 86°F and low of 57°F; January is the coolest, at 43°F and 21°F. July is the wettest at 2.5 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 0.7 inches; the year adds up to 14.9 inches over 36 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 23 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 144 nights a year. Snowfall averages 28.1 inches a year, most of it in December. That 14.9 inches is more than at 42 of the 58 New Mexico stations used on this site (72%). Pecos, 17 miles east, has its own station (Pecos Nm, NM): 16.0 inches a year, 1.1 more than here, and a July average high of 85°F against 86°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 43 | 21 | 0.8 | 2 | 5.0 |
| Feb | 47 | 23 | 0.7 | 3 | 5.5 |
| Mar | 56 | 29 | 0.9 | 2 | 4.2 |
| Apr | 63 | 34 | 0.8 | 2 | 1.1 |
| May | 73 | 44 | 0.9 | 2 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 84 | 54 | 0.9 | 2 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 86 | 57 | 2.5 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 83 | 56 | 2.2 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 77 | 50 | 1.6 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 66 | 39 | 1.6 | 3 | 0.5 |
| Nov | 52 | 28 | 1.0 | 2 | 3.2 |
| Dec | 42 | 21 | 1.0 | 3 | 8.6 |
| Year | 64 | 38 | 14.9 | 36 | 28.1 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Santa Fe Seton, NM (7,000 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 Santa Fe
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 53 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Santa Fe: 29 flash floods, 19 thunderstorm wind reports and 5 lightning strikes. They killed 5 people and injured 3, and the NWS estimated $3.6 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on December 1, 2007. July has had the most flash floods, 20 of 29. Of the 92 New Mexico cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 77 have had fewer than Santa Fe.
July 14, 2008: flash flood 8 miles from the centre of Santa Fe — 1 killed, $25,000 damage.
NWS: “Flash flooding struck the northeast part of Santa Fe. Arroyos became torrents and overflowed their banks in some instances.”
July 8, 2013: flash flood 3 miles from the centre of Santa Fe — 1 killed.
NWS: “The body of an adult female was recovered from an arroyo on the south side of Santa Fe during the late evening hours. Additionally, one to two feet of water was reported on some roads on the south side of Santa Fe.”
September 22, 2014: flash flood 7 miles from the centre of Santa Fe — 1 killed.
NWS: “Local news station reporting that the body of a 58 year old man was found in the Santa Fe River after heavy rainfall and flash flooding. Reports say that he may have been sleeping in or near the river and drowned when he was swept away from rushing waters.”
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 Santa Fe's 5 ZIP codes have filed 43 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1984, and were paid $853,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. Of the 25 New Mexico cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 14 have fewer than Santa Fe.
Santa Fe County, which includes Santa Fe, has been named in 10 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1973, 6 of them major disasters (by incident: 3 fires, 3 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on April 5, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Santa Fe County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for lightning; Relatively Moderate for inland flooding; Relatively Low for hail, strong wind and heat waves; Very Low for tornadoes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $48.9 million a year, the 4th highest of 33 New Mexico counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $27.3 million (56%), 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 Santa Fe
- Pecos, NM17 mi
- Santo Domingo Pueblo, NM23 mi
- Los Alamos, NM26 mi
- Chimayo, NM27 mi
- Espanola, NM27 mi
- Algodones, NM31 mi
- Ohkay Owingeh, NM33 mi
- Alcalde, NM34 mi
- Placitas, NM35 mi
- Sandia Park, NM35 mi
- Hernandez, NM36 mi
- Bernalillo, NM39 mi
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