New Mexico, 1999

Flash Flood and Hail in New Mexico, May 21, 1999

May 21, 1999 · NWS ABQ · 4 events in 1 county or zone

3 hail, 1 flash flood, as filed by the National Weather Service.

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

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
4

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.

The radar

The Holloman AFB radar (KHDX), 153 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 01:55 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 hail, 1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Chaves

When
May 21, 6:57 PM MST
Where
Chaves County, Roswell
Measured
1.75 in hail
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
33.380, -104.520

Hail, Chaves

When
May 21, 7:01 PM MST
Where
Chaves County, 8 mi NE of Elkins
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
33.770, -103.950

Hail, Chaves

When
May 21, 7:54 PM MST
Where
Chaves County, 1 mi S of Roswell
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
33.370, -104.520

Flash Flood, Chaves

When
May 21, 9:35 PM MST
Where
Chaves County, 15 mi E of Roswell
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
33.363, -104.467 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Several severe storms moved northeast across Chaves County during the evening with large hail and heavy rain. U.S. Highway 380 was closed for about two hours along a 2 mile stretch while water covered the roadway.

What these are

Hail
Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
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

More

Every storm in New Mexico in 1999Every state in 1999This day in weather historyWarnings in New Mexico, May 1999

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: 5697381, 5697382, 5697383, 5697384.