New Mexico, 1988

Tornado and Hail in New Mexico, April 16, 1988

April 16, 1988 · NWS ABQ · 5 events in 2 counties and zones

3 hail, 1 thunderstorm wind, 1 tornado, 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
1
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
5

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

3 hail, 1 thunderstorm wind, 1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Eddy

When
April 16, 2:30 PM CST
Where
Eddy County
Measured
1.75 in hail
Coordinates
32.280, -104.170

Thunderstorm Wind, Eddy

When
April 16, 2:30 PM CST
Where
Eddy County
Deaths
1 direct, 0 indirect
Coordinates
32.720, -104.380

Tornado, Lea

When
April 16, 3:48 PM CST
Where
Lea County
Rating
F1
Path length
0.2 mi
Path width
10 yd
Coordinates
32.230, -103.320

Hail, Lea

When
April 16, 4:00 PM CST
Where
Lea County
Measured
1.75 in hail
Coordinates
32.780, -103.400

Hail, Lea

When
April 16, 4:15 PM CST
Where
Lea County
Measured
2.75 in hail
Coordinates
32.930, -103.350

The people who died

As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.

EventDateAgeSexWhereKind
Thunderstorm Wind, Eddy1988-04-16Direct

What these are

Hail
Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
Thunderstorm Wind
Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.
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.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in New Mexico in 1988Every state in 1988This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for New Mexico, 1988Warnings in New Mexico, April 1988

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: 10076953, 10076954, 10076955, 10076956, 10076957.