New Mexico, 1979

Tornado and Hail in New Mexico, May 20, 1979

May 20, 1979 · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

1 tornado, 1 hail, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$250
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
2

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

Event by event

1 tornado, 1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.

Tornado, Eddy

When
May 20, 1:17 PM CST
Where
Eddy County
Path width
33 yd
Property damage
$250
Coordinates
32.770, -104.400

Hail, Lincoln

When
May 20, 2:00 PM CST
Where
Lincoln County
Measured
1.75 in hail
Coordinates
33.550, -105.750

What these are

Tornado
A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.
Hail
Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in New Mexico in 1979Every state in 1979This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for New Mexico, 1979

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 10078426, 10078427.