New Mexico, 2025Flash Flooding and Debris Flow in New Mexico, August 26, 2025
August 26, 2025 · NWS ABQ · 3 events in 3 counties and zones
Higher moisture moved into eastern and central New Mexico behind a backdoor front resulting in a greater coverage of showers and thunderstorms across the middle Rio Grande Valley, central mountain chain, and northeast New Mexico. Repeated round of thunderstorms resulted in flash flooding on the Ruidoso area burn scars, State Highway 117 in central Cibola County south of Grants and downstream of…
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- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $50,000
- 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.
Higher moisture moved into eastern and central New Mexico behind a backdoor front resulting in a greater coverage of showers and thunderstorms across the middle Rio Grande Valley, central mountain chain, and northeast New Mexico. Repeated round of thunderstorms resulted in flash flooding on the Ruidoso area burn scars, State Highway 117 in central Cibola County south of Grants and downstream of the Hermits Peak and Calf Canyon burn scar on State Highways 58 and 434 just north of Cleveland and Mora, respectively, in Mora County. Highway 434 in Mora County were closed down for a couple of days to allow for extensive repairs.
Debris Flow, Lincoln
- When
- August 26, 12:04 PM MST to 4:00 PM MST
- Where
- Lincoln County, 2.54 mi SW of Alto to 3.44 mi SSW of Alto
- Cause
- Heavy Rain / Burn Area
- Reported by
- Emergency Manager
- Coordinates
- 33.379, -105.716
Slow moving thunderstorms developed over the McBride burn scar back building east over the South Fork burn scar. Heavy rainfall rates first resulted in flash flooding on the McBride burn scar with debris flow resulting in the closure of Gavilan Canyon Road between Hull Road and Warrior Drive and Gavilan Canyon Road at Meander Drive. Debris flows and flash flooding then quickly occurred on the South Fork burn scar resulting in the closure of many roads including White Mountain Drive at Warren Tucker Drive, Alpine Village Road at University, Brady Canyon Road at Ponderosa Drive, Ash Drive, and Mechem Drive, Cree Meadows Drive, Sudderth Drive and Mechem Drive intersection, and Paradise Canyon Drive at Hull Road and Leon Farrar. The flash flooding and debris flows resulted in vehicles rushing down the road on Sunny Slope Drive and a water rescue of one male.
Flash Flood, Cibola
- When
- August 26, 1:44 PM MST to 3:30 PM MST
- Where
- Cibola County, 7.03 mi SSE of San Rafael to 15.53 mi WSW of Mc Cartys
- Cause
- Heavy Rain
- Reported by
- Department of Highways
- Coordinates
- 35.019, -107.825
Slow moving thunderstorms resulted in flash flooding and rushing water across NM Highway 117 near El Malpais National Monument. The highway was temporarily closed during this time until flood waters fully receded.
Flash Flood, Mora
- When
- August 26, 5:10 PM MST to 7:45 PM MST
- Where
- Mora County, 0.77 mi NW of Cleveland to 2.25 mi SSE of Cleveland
- Cause
- Heavy Rain / Burn Area
- Property damage
- $50,000
- Reported by
- Trained Spotter
- Coordinates
- 35.998, -105.379
Repeated rounds of thunderstorms resulted in flash Flooding along NM Highway 518 just north of Cleveland. A trained spotter observed at least 8 places where small creeks along the Rio Mora were exceeding banks and flooding the highway. Flash flooding also resulted in extreme damage to NM Highway 434. The highway was closed for emergency repairs for 2 to 3 days and was reopened a few days later after installing five corrugated metal pipes and restoring the roadway with a temporary dirt surface.
- Debris Flow
- A fast-moving slurry of mud, rock and debris, usually on a slope soaked by heavy rain or stripped by a fire.
- 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.
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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: 1279742, 1279763, 1279759.