De Baca County, New Mexico
County storm and disaster record · FIPS 35011 · population 1,687 · 2,323 sq mi
NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 512 records for De Baca County, New Mexico from 1950 through June 30, 2026, on 403 days; the most frequent are hail reports (144 records). 264 of them are forecast-zone records, which the National Weather Service files once per zone: a county covered by several zones receives each one, so a single storm can add several records on the same day. The most damaging was the April 24, 1997 winter storm ($735,000 in 2025 dollars). FEMA has issued 7 declarations naming the county since 1998, 5 of them for natural hazards; the latest for a natural hazard was “Severe Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides” on October 29, 2013.
The record, 1950 to 2026
Storm records filed for the county each year (2026 to June 30, 2026). Before 1996 NOAA recorded only tornadoes (from 1950), thunderstorm wind and hail (from 1955).
- recorded, no damage figure
- under $100,000
- $100,000 or more
- $1 million or more
- $10 million or more, or a death
- $100 million or more, or 10 deaths
- a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
- a year with a death
- 1955: wind and hail recorded from 1955
- 1996: all 48 event types from 1996
- Storm records
- 512on 403 days, 1950 to June 30, 2026
- Deaths recorded
- 00 injuries
- Damage, 2025 dollars
- $2.7Mas filed (scale steps before 1993)
- Tornadoes
- 11strongest F1
- FEMA declarations
- 7latest 2020
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026 (file revision 20260918); damage converted to 2025 dollars with the BLS CPI-U. Search the record at NCEI. BLS consumer price index.
What hazards hit De Baca County most?
The most frequent records are hail reports: 144 since 1970. 58% of its hail reports since 1970 fell in May and June. The rank column places the county among New Mexico's counties by days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land over each hazard's complete period.
| Hazard | Records | Days | First, last | Killed | Injured | Damage | Rank in state |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 144 | 81 | 1970-2025 | 0 | 0 | $478K | 15 of 33 |
| Drought | 124 | 124 | 1996-2026 | 0 | 0 | – | 10 of 33 |
| High wind and dust storms | 86 | 80 | 1996-2026 | 0 | 0 | $279K | 17 of 33 |
| Severe thunderstorm wind | 65 | 56 | 1987-2026 | 0 | 0 | $588K | 10 of 33 |
| Winter storms | 49 | 49 | 1997-2025 | 0 | 0 | $1.1M | 21 of 33 |
| Floods | 22 | 16 | 1997-2025 | 0 | 0 | $118K | 25 of 33 |
| Tornadoes | 11 | 10 | 1971-2025 | 0 | 0 | $112K | 15 of 33 |
| Fog, smoke and funnel clouds | 4 | 4 | 1997-2019 | 0 | 0 | – | 15 of 33 |
| Heat | 3 | 3 | 1998-2000 | 0 | 0 | – | 11 of 33 |
| Heavy rain | 3 | 2 | 2014-2015 | 0 | 0 | – | 16 of 33 |
| Extreme cold | 1 | 1 | 2026-2026 | 0 | 0 | – | 32 of 33 |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database (county and forecast-zone records attributed to the county; a zone record shows its own totals on each county it covers). Days: dates with at least one record of the hazard in the county. Ranks: days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer), since 1950 for tornadoes, 1955 for hail and thunderstorm wind, 1996 for the rest.
How many tornadoes has De Baca County had?
NOAA records 11 tornadoes in De Baca County from 1971 to 2025, the strongest rated F1, with 0 deaths and 0 injuries recorded in the county. That is 15th of 33 New Mexico counties by days with tornadoes per 1,000 square miles since 1950. A tornado that crossed a county line is counted in each county it touched, with the length of its path inside the county.
Counted as whole tornadoes rather than county records, the Storm Prediction Center's database holds 10 tornadoes whose track touched De Baca County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 11: they file a crossing tornado once per county segment, and the two databases differ on some tracks); along their whole tracks they killed 0 people.
Map of the strongest tornado tracks in New Mexico.
Every tornado record filed for De Baca County (11)
| Date | Place | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-04-26 | Ft Sumner, De Baca County | EFU 0.42 mi x 50 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2017-04-14 | Dunlap, De Baca County | EF0 0.46 mi x 40 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2008-08-17 | Guadalupe, De Baca County | EF0 2.15 mi x 35 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2001-08-30 | Yeso, De Baca County | F0 50 mi x 20 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2001-08-11 | Ft Sumner, De Baca County | F0 50 mi x 30 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 1993-09-02 | Fort Sumner, De Baca County | F1 0.5 mi x 30 yd | 0 | 0 | $112K |
| 1993-05-24 | Fort Sumner, De Baca County | F0 0.1 mi x 10 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 1990-05-29 | De Baca County | F0 0.2 mi x 10 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 1989-06-01 | De Baca County | F1 5 mi x 50 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 1989-06-01 | De Baca County | F1 8 mi x 50 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 1971-03-05 | De Baca County | F0 | 0 | 0 | – |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, tornado records by county (path length in the county, maximum width); ratings as published: F scale before February 1, 2007, EF scale after. Whole-track figures: NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database (1950-2025). SPC severe weather database.
When was the last damaging storm in De Baca County?
The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the April 26, 2025 flash flood ($10,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-06-02 | Thunderstorm WindFt Sumner, De Baca County | 59 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-01 | DroughtDe Baca County · forecast zone De Baca County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-05-14 | Thunderstorm WindFt Sumner, De Baca County | 58 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-05-06 | High WindDe Baca County · forecast zone De Baca County | 53 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-05-01 | DroughtDe Baca County · forecast zone De Baca County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-04-01 | DroughtDe Baca County · forecast zone De Baca County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-02-17 | High WindDe Baca County · forecast zone De Baca County | 56 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-01-26 | Extreme Cold/Wind ChillDe Baca County · forecast zone De Baca County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-07-24 | HailTaiban, De Baca County | 1.00 in hail | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2025-06-15 | HailTaiban, De Baca County | 1.75 in hail | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2025-06-09 | Thunderstorm WindTaiban, De Baca County | 52 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2025-05-19 | Thunderstorm WindFt Sumner, De Baca County | 57 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database; every record of 2025-2026 is listed, earlier ones when they caused deaths, injuries or $250,000 of damage (2025 dollars), and every tornado.
The deadliest and costliest records
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997-04-24 | Winter StormDe Baca County · forecast zone De Baca | 0 | 0 | $735K | |
| 1999-03-17 | Winter StormDe Baca County · forecast zone De Baca | 0 | 0 | $354K | |
| 2015-07-20 | Thunderstorm WindChilili, De Baca County | 61 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $311K |
| 2019-05-26 | Thunderstorm WindFt Sumner, De Baca County | 65 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $115K |
| 1993-09-02 | TornadoFort Sumner, De Baca County | F1 0.5 mi x 30 yd | 0 | 0 | $112K |
| 2017-06-30 | Thunderstorm WindTaiban, De Baca County | 65 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $60K |
| 1997-05-30 | HailYeso, De Baca County | 2.50 in hail | 0 | 0 | $55K |
| 2025-04-26 | Flash FloodFt Sumner, De Baca County | 0 | 0 | $10K |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths and injuries direct and indirect; damage is property plus crops as estimated by the National Weather Service, converted to 2025 dollars.
Is it getting more frequent?
Records per decade for De Baca County's most frequent hazards. Counts rose everywhere after 1996, when NOAA began recording every event type, so compare decades within a hazard's complete period only (the shaded cells come before it).
| Hazard | 1950s | 1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020-26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 32 | 47 | 48 | 13 |
| Drought | – | – | – | – | 5 | 27 | 52 | 40 |
| High wind and dust storms | – | – | – | – | 2 | 11 | 48 z | 25 |
| Severe thunderstorm wind | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 12 | 27 | 16 |
| Winter storms | – | – | – | – | 7 | 15 | 21 | 6 |
| Floods | – | – | – | – | 1 | 1 | 14 | 6 |
High wind and dust storms in the 2010s: 48 records against 11 in the decade before, 48 of them forecast-zone records. Cells marked z rose mostly through zone records. The local National Weather Service office files these once per forecast zone, so a change in how it draws its zones or splits a storm into records moves this count as much as the weather does; read it beside the De Baca County days with a record above.
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records per calendar decade; zone records from the CZ_TYPE field (Z).
What time of year?
58% of its hail reports since 1970 fell in May and June. The two busiest months are in violet.
The values, month by month
Jan 33 · Feb 37 · Mar 42 · Apr 44 · May 79 · Jun 77 · Jul 46 · Aug 39 · Sep 33 · Oct 28 · Nov 21 · Dec 33 (records).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began.
Federal disaster declarations for De Baca County
FEMA's register lists 7 declarations that include De Baca County: 4 major disasters, 3 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for biological (2) and fire (2).
| Declared | Number | Type | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-04-05 | DR-4529 | Biological | Covid-19 Pandemic |
| 2020-03-13 | EM-3460 | Biological | Covid-19 |
| 2013-10-29 | DR-4152 | Flood | Severe Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides |
| 2005-09-07 | EM-3229 | Hurricane | Hurricane Katrina Evacuation |
| 2000-05-13 | DR-1329 | Fire | Severe Forest Fire |
| 2000-05-10 | EM-3154 | Fire | Severe Fire Threats |
| 1998-01-29 | DR-1202 | Severe Storm | Severe Winter Storm |
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), declarations through October 2, 2026; one declaration is counted once however many areas it names. OpenFEMA dataset page.
FEMA's modeled risk for De Baca County
FEMA's National Risk Index rates De Baca County Very Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $2.3 million. These are FEMA's model estimates of future loss from 18 hazards, not a count of what happened; they can differ from the record above.
| Hazard | Risk rating | Expected annual loss | Modeled frequency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drought | Relatively Moderate | $707K | 115 modeled event-days a year |
| Wildfire | Relatively Low | $260K | once in about 194 years (modeled) |
| Winter Weather | Very Low | $17K | 8.4 a year (modeled) |
| Volcanic Activity | Very Low | $0 | once in about 10,000 years (modeled) |
| Heat Wave | Very Low | $25K | 1.8 modeled event-days a year |
| Riverine Flooding | Very Low | $1.2M | once in about 2 years (modeled) |
| Hail | Very Low | $23K | 1.3 a year (modeled) |
| Landslide | Very Low | $18 | once in about 4 years (modeled) |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index, county table, December 2025 release. FEMA's National Risk Index map.
Counties that share a border with De Baca County
Source: U.S. Census Bureau county adjacency file; NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1950. The Census Bureau's adjacency file.
Next
- Tornadoes in New MexicoEvery New Mexico tornado since 1950 and the counties with the most per square mile
- Hail in New MexicoThe state's hail reports, by county, year and month
- The New Mexico recordEvery hazard in the state, its deadliest events and its federal declarations
- FEMA's risk rating for each hazard in De Baca CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
- Download De Baca County's FEMA declarations (CSV)7 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis