NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Vanderwagen, 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 Vanderwagen, New Mexico since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 1 tornado has touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 1
- 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 Vanderwagen
The only tornado within 25 miles, on May 13, 2023, has no rating; its path came within 19 miles. Of the 94 New Mexico cities on this site, 85% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Vanderwagen. Hail has been reported within 10 miles once, in 1998, with stones of 0.75 inches (penny size). Of the 94 New Mexico cities, 91% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Vanderwagen.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Vanderwagen
By decade
- 2020s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 13, 2023 | Unrated | 19 mi | 0.51 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 1 of 1, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Vanderwagen
The Storm Prediction Center has one hail report within 10 miles of Vanderwagen, from September 29, 1998: 0.75 inches (penny size).
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Vanderwagen
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Gallup Municipal Airport, NM, 15 miles north of Vanderwagen at 6,471 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 89°F and low of 55°F; December is the coolest, at 45°F and 14°F. August is the wettest at 1.9 inches of precipitation on average and June the driest at 0.4 inches; the year adds up to 10.7 inches over 32 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 35 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 198 nights a year. Snowfall averages 33.8 inches a year, most of it in December. That 10.7 inches is more than at 19 of the 58 New Mexico stations used on this site (33%). Window Rock, AZ, 30 miles northwest, has its own station (Window Rock Airport, AZ): 11.5 inches a year, 0.8 more than here, and a July average high of 88°F against 89°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 45 | 14 | 0.8 | 3 | 6.3 |
| Feb | 50 | 19 | 0.7 | 3 | 5.9 |
| Mar | 59 | 23 | 0.6 | 2 | 4.4 |
| Apr | 66 | 28 | 0.5 | 2 | 2.3 |
| May | 75 | 36 | 0.6 | 2 | 1.1 |
| Jun | 86 | 45 | 0.4 | 1 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 89 | 55 | 1.6 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 86 | 53 | 1.9 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 80 | 44 | 1.3 | 3 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 69 | 31 | 0.9 | 3 | 1.5 |
| Nov | 56 | 20 | 0.7 | 2 | 4.5 |
| Dec | 45 | 14 | 0.7 | 2 | 7.8 |
| Year | 67 | 32 | 10.7 | 32 | 33.8 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Gallup Municipal Airport, NM (6,471 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.
Flood insurance claims, disaster declarations and FEMA risk ratings
McKinley County, which includes Vanderwagen, has been named in 11 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1972, 8 of them major disasters (by incident: 5 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 2 fires, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on April 5, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives McKinley County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for lightning; Relatively Moderate for inland flooding; Relatively Low for heat waves; Very Low for tornadoes, hail and strong wind. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $20.8 million a year, the 17th highest of 33 New Mexico counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $15.4 million (74%), 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 Vanderwagen
- Mentmore, NM14 mi
- Gallup, NM17 mi
- Gamerco, NM21 mi
- Yatahey, NM27 mi
- Window Rock, AZ30 mi
- Sanders, AZ30 mi
- St. Michaels, AZ31 mi
- Thoreau, NM37 mi
- Crownpoint, NM39 mi
- Prewitt, NM47 mi
- Milan, NM52 mi
- Grants, NM52 mi
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