Flash Flood, Chaves
- When
- July 14, 5:00 PM MST to 8:00 PM MST
- Where
- Chaves County, 6 mi E of Lake Arthur
- Deaths
- 4 direct, 0 indirect
- Coordinates
- 33.363, -104.467 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flood in New Mexico, July 14, 1996
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.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. 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
The toll
- Deaths
- 4
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
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.
What happened
The episode as NWS ABQ wrote it up.
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 Spence Road low water crossing around 530PM. The vehicle entered the water at dark or about 9PM. The 48 year old male driver of the vehicle was rescued by other motorists.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
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.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood, Chaves | 1996-07-15 | 32 | Female | Vehicle/Towed Trailer | Direct |
| Flash Flood, Chaves | 1996-07-15 | 7 | Male | Vehicle/Towed Trailer | Direct |
| Flash Flood, Chaves | 1996-07-15 | 12 | Male | Vehicle/Towed Trailer | Direct |
| Flash Flood, Chaves | 1996-07-15 | 9 | Female | Vehicle/Towed Trailer | Direct |
What these are
- Flash Flood
- Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Lightning Strike in Virginia, July 14, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Vermont, July 14, 1996
- Lightning Strike in Pennsylvania, July 14, 1996
- Lightning Strike in North Carolina, July 14, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Vermont, July 14, 1996
- Lightning Strike in South Carolina, July 14, 1996
- Flash Flood in Colorado, July 14 to 15, 1996
- Hail in New York, July 14, 1996
- Damaging Wind in New York, July 14, 1996
- Tornado in Arizona, July 14, 1996
- Lightning Strike in New Hampshire, July 14, 1996
- Damaging Wind in New York, July 14, 1996
More
Every storm in New Mexico in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in New Mexico, July 1996
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: 5568310.