Lea County, New Mexico

What hazards hit Lea County most?

The most frequent records are hail reports: 514 since 1957. 61% of its hail reports since 1957 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.

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 Lea County had?

NOAA records 97 tornadoes in Lea County from 1954 to 2024, the strongest rated F3, with 0 deaths and 8 injuries recorded in the county. That is 3rd 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 96 tornadoes whose track touched Lea County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 97: 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.

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 Lea County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the June 30, 2026 thunderstorm wind ($110,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).

Lea County Emergency Management relayed a report of seven power lines down south of Monument on State Highway 8. Power lines were also downed near the intersection of Maddox and Pearl Valley Roads. The total time of occurrence is estimated from radar. The cost of damages and the maximum wind gust is also estimated.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1342009)

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

A damage figure marked "step" is a record from before 1993: NOAA then filed damage by category, and the figure is the category as entered, in the dollars of that year, not an estimate of the loss.

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 Lea 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).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records per calendar decade; zone records from the CZ_TYPE field (Z).

What time of year?

61% of its hail reports since 1957 fell in May and June. The two busiest months are in violet.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began.

Federal disaster declarations for Lea County

FEMA's register lists 7 declarations that include Lea County: 3 major disasters, 3 emergencies and one fire management assistance declaration. Most were for biological (2) and fire (2).

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.

How many floods has Lea County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 96 flood or flash flood records for Lea County from 1996 to 2026, on 75 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Lea County ranks 918th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $931,000 on 208 claims filed in Lea County; the most in one year was 75 in 1992. Claims count insured losses only: uninsured flood damage is not in this file.

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims, as of September 8, 2026; claims by year of loss, payments in the dollars of the year paid. OpenFEMA dataset page.

FEMA's modeled risk for Lea County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Lea County Relatively Moderate overall, with an expected annual loss of $45.2 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.

Source: FEMA National Risk Index, county table, December 2025 release. FEMA's National Risk Index map.

Counties that share a border with Lea County

1. Eddy County 1,549
2. Lea County 1,198
3. Chaves County 1,184
4. Roosevelt County 833
5. Gaines County, TX 565
6. Cochran County, TX 525
7. Yoakum County, TX 499
8. Andrews County, TX 404
9. Winkler County, TX 275
10. Loving County, TX 108

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 Lea CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Lea County's FEMA declarations (CSV)7 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis