Hail and Damaging Winds in New Mexico, September 30, 1998

Name: Hail and Damaging Winds in New Mexico, September 30, 1998
Start: 1998-09-30T14:00
End: 1998-09-30T17:28
Location: New Mexico

September 30, 1998 · NWS ABQ · 7 events in 4 counties and zones

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: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $350,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 7

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.

For the second day in a row, an intense thunderstorm formed over northwest Socorro County near the Alamo Navajo Reservation and moved northeast into southwest Valencia County. This storm developed a strong mesocyclone and turned eastward, moving over Los Lunas with high winds and extreme hail. A small section of the city was pounded by softball size hail. Wind gusts of 60-70 mph caused roof damage in Los Lunas and destroyed several hangers and light planes at the local airport. Winds overturned several new manufactured homes awaiting shipment at a plant just northwest of Belen. The storm continued eastward yielding large hail across southeast Bernalillo and northwest Torrance Counties. The storm finally dissipated over open rangeland south of Clines Corners.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

5 hail, 2 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Socorro

When: September 30, 2:00 PM MST
Where: Socorro County, 4 mi SE of Alamo
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 34.430, -107.470

Hail, Valencia

When: September 30, 4:05 PM MST
Where: Valencia County, Los Lunas
Measured: 4.5 in hail
Property damage: $150,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 34.800, -106.720

Thunderstorm Wind, Valencia

When: September 30, 4:05 PM MST to 4:15 PM MST
Where: Valencia County, Los Lunas
Measured: 61 kt (70 mph)
Property damage: $100,000
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 34.800, -106.720

Thunderstorm Wind, Valencia

When: September 30, 4:10 PM MST
Where: Valencia County, 2 mi NW of Belen
Measured: 61 kt (70 mph)
Property damage: $100,000
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 34.680, -106.780

Hail, Bernalillo

When: September 30, 4:47 PM MST
Where: Bernalillo County, 9 mi S of Tijeras
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 34.950, -106.380

Hail, Torrance

When: September 30, 5:00 PM MST
Where: Torrance County, 5 mi N of Tajique
Measured: 2 in hail
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 34.820, -106.280

Hail, Torrance

When: September 30, 5:28 PM MST
Where: Torrance County, Mc Intosh
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: FIRE DEPT/RESCUE SQUAD
Coordinates: 34.870, -106.050

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.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in New Mexico in 1998 Every state in 1998 This day in weather history Warnings in New Mexico, September 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: 5668820, 5668821, 5668822, 5668908, 5668823, 5668906, 5668907.