New Mexico, 1999

Tornado and Hail in New Mexico, May 29, 1999

May 29, 1999 · NWS MAF · 5 events in 1 county or zone

This supercell storm first formed on the Sacramento Mountains and moved to the southeast into Eddy County. Strong mid -level rotation was indicated by doppler radar.

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

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
5

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.

This supercell storm first formed on the Sacramento Mountains and moved to the southeast into Eddy County. Strong mid -level rotation was indicated by doppler radar.

The radar

The Holloman AFB radar (KHDX), 169 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 23:42 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

4 hail, 1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Tornado, Eddy

When
May 29, 4:42 PM MST to 4:44 PM MST
Where
Eddy County, 15 mi NW of Carlsbad
Rating
F0
Path length
0.4 mi
Path width
70 yd
Reported by
NWS EMPLOYEE(OFF DUTY)
Coordinates
32.570, -104.420

Brief dust whirl tornado reported by vacationing NWS Chaser.

Hail, Eddy

When
May 29, 4:43 PM MST to 4:50 PM MST
Where
Eddy County, Lakewood
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
32.630, -104.370

Hail falling ahead of tornado path.

Hail, Eddy

When
May 29, 5:00 PM MST
Where
Eddy County, 10 mi NW of Carlsbad
Measured
1 in hail
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
32.520, -104.350

Hail, Eddy

When
May 29, 5:15 PM MST
Where
Eddy County, 5 mi NW of Carlsbad
Measured
1.25 in hail
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
32.470, -104.300

Hail, Eddy

When
May 29, 5:35 PM MST
Where
Eddy County, Carlsbad
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
32.420, -104.230

What these are

Tornado
A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.
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

More

Every storm in New Mexico in 1999Every state in 1999This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for New Mexico, 1999Warnings 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: 5697270, 5697337, 5697338, 5697339, 5697340.