Lea County tornado history

95 tornadoes touched Lea County, New Mexico between 1950 and 2025 — about 1.3 a year. The strongest was rated F3 (May 17, 1954).

95tornadoes since 1950
F3strongest rating
0killed · 8 injured
19.4 milongest path · 1969
(E)F0(E)F1(E)F2(E)F3(E)F4(E)F5· dots = start point only

By rating

(E)F063
(E)F119
(E)F28
(E)F31
(E)F40
(E)F50
unrated4

By month

JFMAMJJASOND

Peak month: May.

By decade

’50’60’70’80’90’00’10’20

Strongest tornadoes

DateRatingPathWidthInjuredKilled
May 17, 1954F30.1 mi10 yd00
Jun 6, 1991F217.5 mi150 yd00
Jun 6, 1991F210 mi150 yd50
Jun 6, 1991F210 mi150 yd00
Mar 23, 2007EF28.4 mi880 yd00
Jun 6, 1991F24.5 mi100 yd00
Jul 24, 1960F20.1 mi10 yd00
Jun 14, 1972F20.1 mi10 yd00
May 27, 1982F20.1 mi10 yd00
Apr 10, 1969F119.4 mi10 yd20
Apr 17, 1970F17.1 mi10 yd00
Apr 19, 1977F15.1 mi400 yd00

Most recent tornadoes

DateRatingPathWidthInjuredKilled
Nov 2, 2024unrated1.3 mi50 yd00
Nov 2, 2024unrated6.3 mi200 yd00
May 27, 2023unrated1 mi50 yd00
May 27, 2023unrated3.5 mi50 yd00
May 23, 2014EF03.6 mi200 yd00
Mar 23, 2007EF03 mi30 yd00
Mar 23, 2007EF28.4 mi880 yd00
Mar 23, 2007EF01 mi100 yd00
Mar 23, 2007EF01 mi75 yd00
Apr 30, 1999F00.2 mi120 yd00
Oct 27, 1998F00.5 mi100 yd00
May 28, 1997F00.3 mi50 yd00

Nearby counties

Yoakum County, TX25Gaines County, TX36Andrews County, TX25Eddy County, NM59Cochran County, TX34Loving County, TX7Terry County, TX34Winkler County, TX11

Questions

How many tornadoes has Lea County, New Mexico had?

95 tornadoes touched Lea County, New Mexico between 1950 and 2025 in the NOAA Storm Prediction Center database — about 1.3 per year.

What was the strongest tornado in Lea County?

The strongest rating recorded was F3 on May 17, 1954, with a 0.1-mile path.

When is tornado season in Lea County?

Most of its tornadoes happened in May (39 of 95). Tornadoes can occur in any month, so keep alerts on year-round.

Right now: live tornado warnings map · alerts for your location. Dates link to that day’s full storm reports where available (2004 onward).