New Mexico, 1999

Flash Flood and Hail in New Mexico, May 24, 1999

May 24, 1999 · NWS MAF · 3 events in 1 county or zone

Storms that cross the Sacramento Mountains grew and eventually merged into a line by the time they crossed into Texas.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 2 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
3

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 MAF wrote it up.

Storms that cross the Sacramento Mountains grew and eventually merged into a line by the time they crossed into Texas.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 flash flood, 1 hail, 1 funnel cloud. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Lea

When
May 24, 8:00 PM MST to 10:00 PM MST
Where
Lea County, Hobbs
Reported by
AMATEUR RADIO
Coordinates
32.792, -103.412 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Street flooding was reported across much of Hobbs from a wide spot in a line of storms moving to the east.

Hail, Lea

When
May 24, 8:07 PM MST
Where
Lea County, Eunice
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
AMATEUR RADIO
Coordinates
32.430, -103.150

Funnel Cloud, Lea

When
May 24, 8:10 PM MST
Where
Lea County, 5 mi NW of Tatum
Reported by
STORM CHASER
Coordinates
32.792, -103.412 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Seen by many spotters and chasers but according to seasoned chasers no touchdown occurred. This small supercell formed north of a developing line of storms. After the wall cloud dissipated the cell merged with the developing line.

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.
Hail
Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
Funnel Cloud
A rotating column of cloud extending from a thunderstorm that did not reach the ground.

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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5697083, 5697084, 5697085.