Hail, Rio Arriba
- When
- July 16, 2:18 PM MST
- Where
- Rio Arriba County, El Rito
- Measured
- 0.88 in hail
- Reported by
- PARK/FOREST SERVICE
- Coordinates
- 36.350, -106.180
Hail in New Mexico, July 16, 1998
Unusually strong thunderstorms developed over north central New Mexico along the Colorado border and then moved southward producing brief heavy rain and copious amounts of mostly small hail. Rare severe size hail was reported near El Rito and Angel Fire in the north central mountains.
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
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- 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.
What happened
The episode as NWS ABQ wrote it up.
Unusually strong thunderstorms developed over north central New Mexico along the Colorado border and then moved southward producing brief heavy rain and copious amounts of mostly small hail. Rare severe size hail was reported near El Rito and Angel Fire in the north central mountains. A rare squall line formed as the storms moved south into eastern Sandoval and northern Santa Fe counties. The line began to bow slightly as it moved over the Albuquerque Metro area producing gusty winds of 40 to 55 mph and several periods of hail over the Northeast Heights section of the city.
The radar
The Albuquerque radar (KABX), 146 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:16 UTC.
Event by event
2 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
Hail, Colfax
- When
- July 16, 2:25 PM MST
- Where
- Colfax County, 4 mi W of Angel Fire
- Measured
- 0.88 in hail
- Reported by
- AMATEUR RADIO
- Coordinates
- 36.420, -105.330
Small hail with some nickel sized stones covered the ground to 3 inches deep at Palo Flechado Pass (el. 9101ft) west northwest of Angel Fire.
What these are
- 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
- Heat in Missouri, July 16 to 21, 1998
- Damaging Winds in Texas, July 16, 1998
- Flash Flood in New York, July 16, 1998
- Flash Flood in New York, July 16, 1998
- Damaging Wind in Arizona, July 16, 1998
- Lightning Strike in Florida, July 16, 1998
- Flash Flood in New York, July 16, 1998
- Damaging Wind in Vermont, July 16, 1998
- Lightning Strike in North Carolina, July 16, 1998
- Flash Flood in Vermont, July 16, 1998
- Damaging Wind in South Carolina, July 16, 1998
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Massachusetts, July 16, 1998
More
Every storm in New Mexico in 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyWarnings in New Mexico, July 1998
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: 5661898, 5661899.