New Mexico floods
Every recorded flood since 1996 · 33 counties with a record
NOAA's Storm Events Database records 1,880 floods and flash floods in New Mexico from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 67 a year since 2000. The deadliest was the July 14, 1996 flash flood in Chaves County: 4 deaths. New Mexico ranks 34th of 52 states and territories by count and 44th of 51 per square mile.
Floods in New Mexico, 1996 to 2026
Flood records per year (NOAA Storm Events); 2026 to June 30, 2026.
- recorded, no damage figure
- under $1 million
- $1 million or more
- $10 million or more
- $100 million or more, or 10 deaths
- $1 billion or more, or 100 deaths
- a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
- a year with a death
- Records
- 1,8801996 to June 30, 2026
- A year since 2000
- 67average
- Deaths
- 5119 injuries
- Damage, 2025 dollars
- $686Mas filed
- Busiest year
- 2013206 records
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; deaths and damage as filed, damage in 2025 dollars. Search the record at NCEI.
Are floods and flash floods common in New Mexico?
New Mexico averages about 67 floods and flash floods a year since 2000, 34th of 52 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2013 (206). Per 10,000 square miles of land, New Mexico records 155 floods and flash floods since 1996, 44th of 51 states and territories by that measure.
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1996, per 10,000 square miles of land area (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer; places under 1,000 square miles not ranked). Damage colours: Storm Events damage, 2025 dollars.
Which counties in New Mexico have the most floods and flash floods?
Per square mile, Los Alamos County leads New Mexico: 11 days with a flood since 1996, 100.8 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Eddy County has the most flood records (235 since 1996); large counties collect more records simply by covering more ground, so the ranking counts days with a record per unit of area (a storm filed for several forecast zones adds several records but one day).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, days with a record in the county since 1996 per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer); in brackets, the count of records.
When is flood season in New Mexico?
61% of its floods and flash floods since 1996 fell in July and August. The busiest month is July (623 records).
The values, month by month
Jan 6 · Feb 1 · Mar 4 · Apr 19 · May 91 · Jun 197 · Jul 623 · Aug 523 · Sep 323 · Oct 81 · Nov 11 · Dec 1 (records).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1996.
What were the deadliest floods and flash floods in New Mexico?
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996-07-14 | Flash FloodLake Arthur, Chaves County A woman and three children drowned when the car they were riding was swept off the pavement into Walnut Creek. The normally dry creek was running 4 feet deep over a dip in the road following heavy rain of 2 to 4 inches on the watershed 12 to 18 miles to the west. Rain had ended about 3 PM. Water began to fill the ... | 4 | 0 | – | |
| 2008-07-11 | Flash FloodGamerco, McKinley County The heavy rain caused water up to three feet deep to flow through downtown Gallup, on either side of Interstate 40. A rock slide occurred near the intersection of West Jefferson Avenue and Highway 491, causing a large boulder to crush three transients who were seeking shelter from the rain. A section of Highway 491 ... | 3 | 0 | $55K | |
| 2022-07-21 | Flash FloodPendaries, San Miguel County One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. While thunderstorm coverage was not as widespread compared to the previous day, July 21, 2022, was still a very active monsoon day for northern New Mexico in part due to the training of thunderstorms along the Hermits Peak and Calf Canyon burn scar. Thunderstorms developed early in the day with steering flow tracking ... | 3 | 0 | $2.5M | |
| 2021-07-20 | Flash FloodAlbuquerque, Bernalillo County A thunderstorm with heavy rain rates of 3 to 4 inches per hour resulted in flash flooding across eastern portions of Albuquerque. Several reports of flooded roadways and yards in the Albuquerque foothills was received. The rainfall also quickly filled up in city's arroyos, and three people within the arroyos were ... | 3 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-07-03 | Flash FloodKirtland Afb, Bernalillo County One storm episode: 5 records in 5 places; the totals are the episode's. Another burst of abundant monsoon moisture resulted in localized heavy rainfall July 2nd and overnight into July 3rd. Burn scar flash flooding off the Salt burn scar washed out culverts that then diverted water into the Cherokee Mobile home park near Ruidoso. A late night round of strong thunderstorms developing along ... | 2 | 0 | – | |
| 2024-10-19 | Flash FloodRoswell, Chaves County One storm episode: 3 records; the totals are the episode's. An anomalously strong upper low from the west over AZ resulted in shower activity across western NM on October 18th resulting in some high wind gusts across parts of western and central NM. As the upper low remained nearly stationary over AZ heading into October 19th, it helped pull up abundant moisture from the Gulf ... | 2 | 0 | $480M | |
| 2006-08-24 | Flash FloodChurch Rock, McKinley County A man and his young son drowned when their vehicle was swept down stream trying to cross a flooded arroyo near Church Rock. Officials reported other people escaping without injuries as their vehicles also became trapped at flooded road crossings across west central and northwest McKinley County. A clogged drainage ... | 2 | 0 | – | |
| 2017-09-30 | Flash FloodSilver City, Grant County Widespread rainfall amounts of 2 inches to almost 3.5 inches occurred around Silver City in the early morning hours. A water rescue was necessary in Tyrone. One vehicle was swept away in the Pinos Altos Creek low water crossing on East 19th Street. The vehicle became wedged in culvert running under US 180, but the ... | 2 | 0 | – | |
| 2016-09-02 | Flash FloodTohatchi, McKinley County Father and daughter killed after entering a flooded arroyo. | 2 | 0 | – | |
| 2015-06-27 | Flash FloodEagle Nest, Colfax County New Mexico Department of Transportation closed US Highway 64 as heavy rain caused debris, boulders and a mud slide to cover several miles of the road. Philmont Scout Ranch also reported major flash flooding on the Ponil Creek basin that ran through a boy scout camp site in the nearby mountains. The flooding washed ... | 1 | 3 | $62K |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths direct and indirect, as filed by the National Weather Service, summed over each storm (one episode, or one named storm filed by several offices). Storm names from the titles of FEMA declarations that name the storm's counties.
The costliest floods and flash floods in New Mexico
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-10-19 | Flash FloodRoswell, Chaves County One storm episode: 3 records; the totals are the episode's. | 2 | 0 | $480M | |
| 2008-07-26 | FloodHollywood, Lincoln County | 1 | 0 | $34M | |
| 2011-08-21 | Flash FloodLos Alamos County One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $14M | |
| 2013-09-14 | Flash FloodMogollon, Catron County One storm episode: 15 records in 10 places; the totals are the episode's. | 1 | 0 | $12M | |
| 2017-09-29 | Flash FloodBelen, Valencia County | 0 | 0 | $9.0M | |
| 2011-08-22 | Flash FloodCochiti Pueblo, Sandoval County | 0 | 0 | $7.9M | |
| 2006-08-15 | Flash FloodHatch, Doña Ana County | 0 | 0 | $6.6M | |
| 2001-07-02 | Flash FloodLos Alamos County | 0 | 0 | $5.8M |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, in 2025 dollars.
Are floods and flash floods becoming more frequent in New Mexico?
New Mexico's count per decade against the whole country's, and its share. NOAA recorded every event type only from 1996, so earlier decades are not comparable; the share of the national total is the fairer comparison across decades.
| Decade | New Mexico | United States | New Mexico's share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996-99 | 130 | 20,986 | 0.6% |
| 2000s | 499 | 54,913 | 0.9% |
| 2010s | 741 | 68,322 | 1.1% |
| 2020-26 | 510 | 43,563 | 1.2% |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.
The most recent floods and flash floods in New Mexico
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-06-25 | Flash FloodCundiyo, Santa Fe County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-06-24 | Flash FloodRaton, Colfax County | 0 | 0 | $20K | |
| 2026-06-14 | Flash FloodPicacho, Doña Ana County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-06-14 | Flash FloodHobbs, Lea County | 0 | 0 | $80K | |
| 2026-06-04 | Flash FloodLovington, Lea County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-06-04 | FloodHagerman, Chaves County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-06-03 | Flash FloodFairacres, Doña Ana County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-06-03 | Flash FloodUniversity Park, Doña Ana County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-06-03 | Flash FloodAlto, Lincoln County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-06-02 | Flash FloodCarlsbad, Eddy County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-05-01 | Flash FloodArtesia, Eddy County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-05-01 | Flash FloodHobbs, Lea County | 0 | 0 | – |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; the newest months are revised by NCEI as reports arrive. Search the record at NCEI.
Federal disaster declarations for floods and flash floods in New Mexico
FEMA has declared 35 disasters in New Mexico for floods and flash floods, counting its incident type and declarations that name flood in the title (FEMA files most storm disasters under Severe Storm); 34 were major disasters, the latest on June 30, 2026.
| Declared | Number | Title | Areas named |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-06-30 | DR-4918 | Severe Storms and Flooding | 1 |
| 2025-07-22 | DR-4886 | Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides | 4 |
| 2025-07-10 | EM-3628 | Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides | 4 |
| 2024-11-01 | DR-4843 | Severe Storm and Flooding | 1 |
| 2024-08-20 | DR-4809 | Severe Storms and Flooding | 1 |
| 2024-06-20 | DR-4795 | South Fork Fire, Salt Fire, and Flooding | 5 |
| 2022-05-04 | DR-4652 | Wildfires, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Mudflows, and Debris Flows | 7 |
| 2017-12-20 | DR-4352 | Severe Storms and Flooding | 1 |
| 2014-10-29 | DR-4199 | Severe Storms and Flooding | 8 |
| 2014-10-06 | DR-4197 | Severe Storms and Flooding | 8 |
| 2013-10-29 | DR-4152 | Severe Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides | 26 |
| 2013-10-24 | DR-4151 | Severe Storms and Flooding | 1 |
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), through October 2, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.
Next
- Los Alamos County: the county's whole recordThe New Mexico county with the most floods and flash floods per square mile
- Floods across the United StatesEvery state ranked, by year and month
- Every natural hazard in New MexicoTornadoes, floods, storms, heat and the federal declarations
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