NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Tucumcari, 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 Tucumcari, 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
no recorded deaths
What the records show for Tucumcari
The highest rating among the 22 tornadoes within 25 miles is F2, reached 3 times; the most recent, on April 17, 1970, came within 20 miles. Of the 22, none had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 3 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 8. The most recent tornado was on July 9, 2008. Tucumcari has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 73% of the 94 New Mexico cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 68 times since 1959, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Tucumcari has more hail reports within 10 miles than 81% of the 94 New Mexico cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Tucumcari
By decade
- 2000s3
- 1990s2
- 1980s4
- 1970s4
- 1960s6
- 1950s3
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 17, 1970 | F2 | 20 mi | 39.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 12, 1963 | F2 | 10 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 3, 1961 | F2 | 17 mi | 4.3 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 15, 1989 | F1 | 24 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 30, 1970 | F1 | 8 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 18, 1966 | F1 | 17 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 10, 1964 | F1 | 24 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 23, 1961 | F1 | 17 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 14, 1959 | F1 | 13 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 11, 1950 | F1 | 19 mi | 3.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 9, 2008 | EF0 | 9 mi | 0.31 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 28, 2008 | EF0 | 14 mi | 0.18 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 Tucumcari
The Storm Prediction Center has 68 hail reports within 10 miles of Tucumcari since 1959, made on 50 separate days. Of these, 41 were 1 inch across or larger, and 4 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 2.75 inches (baseball size), was reported on 2 days, most recently June 19, 2013. The most recent report is from June 4, 2025. June has the most reports, 28.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Tucumcari
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Tucumcari 4 NE, NM, 8 miles northeast of Tucumcari at 4,086 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 95°F and low of 66°F; January is the coolest, at 53°F and 25°F. July is the wettest at 2.8 inches of precipitation on average and January and February the driest at 0.4 inches; the year adds up to 16.0 inches over 34 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 92 days a year, almost all from April to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 100 nights a year. Snowfall averages 14.9 inches a year, most of it in December. That 16.0 inches is more than at 47 of the 58 New Mexico stations used on this site (81%).
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 53 | 25 | 0.4 | 1 | 3.8 |
| Feb | 58 | 28 | 0.4 | 1 | 2.1 |
| Mar | 66 | 35 | 0.9 | 2 | 1.5 |
| Apr | 73 | 42 | 1.0 | 2 | 0.4 |
| May | 82 | 52 | 1.8 | 3 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 92 | 61 | 1.8 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 95 | 66 | 2.8 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 92 | 64 | 2.6 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 86 | 57 | 1.6 | 3 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 75 | 44 | 1.4 | 3 | 0.8 |
| Nov | 63 | 34 | 0.6 | 2 | 2.2 |
| Dec | 53 | 26 | 0.7 | 2 | 4.1 |
| Year | 74 | 44 | 16.0 | 34 | 14.9 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Tucumcari 4 NE, NM (4,086 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 Tucumcari
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 16 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Tucumcari: 12 thunderstorm wind reports and 4 flash floods. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $627,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 82 mph, on May 25, 2023.
May 25, 2023: flash flood 5 miles from the centre of Tucumcari — $500,000 damage.
NWS: “Multiple reports of flash flooding were received via social media during the evening of May 25, 2023. Streets throughout town were flooded, closed, or impassable with vehicles being stranded in some spots.”
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 Tucumcari's ZIP code 88401 have filed 11 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $33,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. Of the 25 New Mexico cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 0 have fewer than Tucumcari.
Quay County, which includes Tucumcari, has been named in 7 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1977, 3 of them major disasters (by incident: 2 biological emergencies, 2 severe storms, 1 drought, 1 fire). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on April 5, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Quay County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for strong wind; Relatively Low for inland flooding and lightning; Very Low for tornadoes, hail and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $5.7 million a year, the 27th highest of 33 New Mexico counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $3.0 million (53%), 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 Tucumcari
- Clovis, NM56 mi
- Santa Rosa, NM61 mi
- Friona, TX68 mi
- Portales, NM69 mi
- Farwell, TX70 mi
- Hereford, TX79 mi
- Las Vegas, NM81 mi
- Muleshoe, TX84 mi
- Dimmitt, TX89 mi
- Clayton, NM94 mi
- Dalhart, TX95 mi
- Canyon, TX105 mi
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