Flash Flood, Santa Fe
- When
- July 9, 7:00 PM MST to 10:00 PM MST
- Where
- Santa Fe County, La Cienega
- Property damage
- $60,000
- Crop damage
- $10,000
- Coordinates
- 35.507, -105.976 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flood in New Mexico, July 9, 1996
Mud and debris moving swiftly down the Santa Fe River at La Cienega destroying several corrals, covering alfalfa pastures in 1-2 feet of muck and washing away several horses and a half dozen sheep on the Gallegos Ranch. Debris filled in 200 feet of acequia (irrigation channel).
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
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $60,000
- Crop damage
- $10,000
- 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.
Mud and debris moving swiftly down the Santa Fe River at La Cienega destroying several corrals, covering alfalfa pastures in 1-2 feet of muck and washing away several horses and a half dozen sheep on the Gallegos Ranch. Debris filled in 200 feet of acequia (irrigation channel). Water also destroyed several rock structures dating back 60 years to the Civilian Conservation Corps.
The radar
The Albuquerque radar (KABX), 87 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 01:58 UTC.
Event by event
1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
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
- Flash Flood in Colorado, July 9, 1996
- Tornado in Texas, July 9, 1996
- Heavy Rain in Texas, July 9, 1996
- Lightning Strike in Maine, July 9, 1996
- Lightning Strike in New Mexico, July 9, 1996
- Flash Flood in Utah, July 9, 1996
- Tornado and Hail in Connecticut, July 9, 1996
- Damaging Wind in New York, July 9, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Texas, July 9, 1996
- Lightning Strike in Maine, July 9, 1996
- Lightning Strike in New Hampshire, July 9, 1996
- Damaging Wind in New York, July 9, 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: 5568149.