Hidalgo County
Population 3,929 (2025) 3,439 sq mi
Large wildfires have burned 604,588 acres of Hidalgo County since 1984, 3rd most of 33 counties in New Mexico; the largest was the Pasco Fire in 2009.
Hazard fingerprint Each spoke is this county’s percentile among U.S. counties where that hazard occurs. How it is computed
- Tornado damage paths since 19503
- Wildfire burn scars since 198467
At a glance
The record for Hidalgo County in eight numbers. Each links to its section below.
Tornadoes
About one every 25 years since 1950, none rated F3/EF3 or stronger.
Strongest
June 15, 1961
F1, 0.1 mile path
10 yards wide.
Most recent
Thursday, September 1, 2016
EFU, 0.4 mile path
10 years ago.
Every recorded tornado
| Sep 1, 2016 | EFU | 0.4 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 15, 2005 | F0 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 |
| Jun 15, 1961 | F1 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 |
- Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Hidalgo County: 0.
- Weak tornadoes were under-recorded before Doppler radar coverage became national in the early 1990s, so earlier decades read low. Ratings use the Fujita scale before February 2007 and the Enhanced Fujita scale after.
Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, 1950 to 2025.
Hurricanes and tropical storms
No tropical storm or hurricane has tracked within 100 miles since records began in 1851.
Wildfire and smoke
604,588 acres burned in 67 large fires since 1984, equal to 27% of the land.
Largest
June 10, 2009
Pasco Fire, 104,041 acres
92,511 acres inside Hidalgo County.
Most recent
July 14, 2023
Jackson Fire
1,166 acres in total.
Every large fire
| Jackson | 2023 | 1,166 | 1,166 |
| Kitchen | 2023 | 1,461 | 1,465 |
| Brushy | 2023 | 6,486 | 6,491 |
| Deer Creek | 2022 | 1,069 | 1,069 |
| Foster | 2022 | 7,616 | 7,615 |
| San Luis | 2022 | 2,915 | 3,024 |
| Miller | 2019 | 5,485 | 5,486 |
| Fitzpatrick | 2019 | 1,496 | 1,496 |
| San Luis | 2018 | 16,997 | 36,252 |
| Ok Bar | 2018 | 60,457 | 60,481 |
| Whitewater | 2017 | 1,007 | 1,008 |
| Baker Canyon | 2016 | 2,508 | 7,562 |
| Cowboy | 2016 | 3,755 | 3,756 |
| Guadalupe Pass | 2016 | 6,070 | 6,068 |
| Hog | 2015 | 4,784 | 7,876 |
| Guadalupe | 2015 | 5,342 | 5,340 |
| Park | 2011 | 1,062 | 1,063 |
| Godfrey | 2011 | 13,536 | 13,538 |
| Cloverdale2 | 2011 | 21,791 | 33,555 |
| Truck Stop | 2011 | 4,948 | 19,660 |
| Pasco | 2009 | 92,511 | 104,041 |
| Skeleton | 2009 | 6,218 | 6,877 |
| Irishman | 2009 | 4,256 | 4,259 |
| Hog | 2009 | 575 | 18,085 |
| Boulder Field | 2008 | 1,484 | 1,486 |
| Whitmire | 2008 | 4,161 | 4,163 |
| Center Peak | 2008 | 19,443 | 19,448 |
| Eight Ball | 2007 | 6 | 1,828 |
| Chitum | 2007 | 3,827 | 3,830 |
| Eicks Draw | 2006 | 5,976 | 5,975 |
| Unnamed | 2006 | 2,043 | 2,045 |
| Adobe | 2006 | 20,089 | 20,096 |
| Unnamed | 2003 | 25,850 | 38,998 |
| Parachute Adam | 2002 | 1,885 | 1,886 |
| Walnut | 2002 | 30,388 | 30,395 |
| Rough Creek | 2001 | 5,705 | 5,709 |
| Valency | 2001 | 2,022 | 6,246 |
| Jackson B | 2001 | 1,397 | 1,401 |
| Animas | 2001 | 6,885 | 6,891 |
| Fitzpatrick | 2000 | 4,612 | 4,613 |
| Cascabel | 2000 | 7,825 | 7,826 |
| Xt | 2000 | 2,683 | 2,685 |
| Garcia | 1999 | 20,728 | 22,646 |
| Bootheel | 1999 | 2,578 | 5,110 |
| Unnamed | 1997 | 408 | 5,050 |
| Maverick | 1997 | 1,965 | 2,257 |
| Rough | 1994 | 3,591 | 3,595 |
| Maverick | 1994 | 1,236 | 1,237 |
| Cloverdale | 1994 | 2,266 | 2,268 |
| Timber | 1994 | 1,228 | 1,230 |
| Center | 1994 | 6,766 | 6,767 |
| Lynch | 1994 | 16,203 | 16,205 |
| Antelope Wel | 1994 | 1,012 | 1,013 |
| Flat Complex | 1994 | 34,859 | 34,871 |
| Fitzpatrick | 1994 | 2,186 | 2,189 |
| Gray | 1994 | 4,303 | 4,301 |
| Xt | 1994 | 1,591 | 1,591 |
| Park | 1993 | 2,071 | 2,070 |
| Linch | 1993 | 27,546 | 27,558 |
| Hilo-Peak | 1990 | 2,909 | 2,908 |
| Rodeo | 1989 | 2,657 | 2,655 |
| Gray | 1989 | 28,758 | 28,767 |
| Antelope | 1989 | 11,767 | 13,274 |
| Knight | 1989 | 4,322 | 4,324 |
| Unnamed | 1988 | 1,277 | 1,277 |
| Cowan | 1988 | 1,147 | 1,147 |
| Unnamed | 1987 | 1,392 | 1,394 |
- Large fires mapped by the Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity program since 1984: 1,000 acres or more in the West, 500 or more in the East. Prescribed burns are excluded. Acres here are the part of each perimeter inside this place.
Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (USGS and U.S. Forest Service), 1984 to 2026.
Smoke overhead
Smokiest year
2020: 23 days
Heavy smoke on 12 days in 2011, the most of any year.
Last 10 years
5.5 days a year
Medium or heavy smoke, 2016 to 2025.
2025
2 days
Medium or heavy smoke. 3 so far in 2026.
- A smoke day is a date on which a smoke plume traced by NOAA Hazard Mapping System analysts from satellite imagery covered this place's point (the county's population centre or the city centre). Counts here are of medium or heavy smoke. Since 2018 analysts have often drawn light smoke as one area over most of the continent, so light-smoke counts are not comparable from year to year. The plumes show smoke anywhere in the air above, not air quality at the ground, and smoke hidden by cloud is missed.
NOAA Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, 2011 to 2026, retrieved October 30, 2026.
Floods and flood insurance
3 federal flood insurance claims since 2006, with $28,000 paid.
Flood events since 1996
- Flash Flood8
- Heavy Rain3
This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026. NOAA Storm Events through 2026.
Drought
In severe drought or worse for 268 of 1,581 months since 1895 (17%); the longest spell lasted 29 months.
268
Months in severe drought or worse since 1895
113
Months in extreme drought
17%
Share of all months, severe or worse
392
Drought reports to the Weather Service since 1996
Lowest reading
August 2025
−6.33, extreme drought
Longest severe spell
29 months
March 2011 to July 2013.
Latest month
September 2026
−3.54, severe drought
- The Palmer Drought Severity Index is computed by NOAA each month from the county's average temperature and precipitation, relative to the county's own climate. Zero is normal; -3 or lower is severe drought and -4 or lower extreme drought. It describes the long-term balance of moisture, not water supply or crop losses.
NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, 1895 to September 2026, issued October 6, 2026.
Earthquakes and landslides
12 earthquakes of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles since 1900; the largest was magnitude 5.3 in 2014.
14
Magnitude 2.5+ inside the county since 1973
60
Magnitude 3+ within 50 miles since 1973
12
Magnitude 4+ within 50 miles since 1900
1
Magnitude 5+ within 50 miles since 1900
Largest within 50 miles
June 28, 2014
13 km SW of Franklin, Arizona; 15.2 miles away, 4.0 miles deep.
Most recent, magnitude 3 or more
August 16, 2026
Magnitude 4.0
41 km ESE of Agua Prieta, Mexico; 15.1 miles away.
Every earthquake of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles
| Aug 16, 2026 | 4.0 | 15.1 |
| Jun 28, 2014 | 4.0 | 14.6 |
| Jun 28, 2014 | 5.3 | 15.2 |
| May 25, 1989 | 4.6 | 37.5 |
| Jun 11, 1988 | 4.5 | 42.1 |
| Jun 8, 1977 | 4.6 | 23.7 |
| Jun 3, 1939 | 4.6 | 41.5 |
| Nov 26, 1938 | 4.6 | 41.5 |
| Nov 2, 1938 | 4.3 | 41.5 |
| Sep 29, 1938 | 4.8 | 41.5 |
| Sep 19, 1938 | 4.3 | 41.5 |
| Sep 17, 1938 | 4.9 | 41.5 |
- Earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or more in the USGS Comprehensive Catalog since 1900. Within 50 miles means the epicentre lies within 50 miles of the county boundary (or inside the county).
- Small earthquakes were under-recorded before the modern seismic networks of the 1970s and are still missed in remote areas, so early decades read low. Magnitudes are as the catalogue reports them and mix scales (moment, local and body-wave).
USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog, 1900 to present, retrieved October 30, 2026.
Mapped landslides
101
Landslides mapped, probable or better
0
With a recorded date
1
Source inventory
Mapped by USGS Conterminous (101).
- Landslides mapped in the USGS compilation of landslide inventories across the United States (version 3.0, 2025), rated probable or better. The compilation joins inventories made by federal and state agencies for different purposes and areas, so the number mapped in a county reflects how closely it has been surveyed as much as how often its slopes fail. An area with few records may simply not have been mapped. Deaths are as recorded in the inventories; a slide listed in two inventories is counted once.
USGS Landslide Inventories across the United States, version 3.0, retrieved October 27, 2026.
Severe weather and other events
542 events in the National Weather Service record, 533 of them since 1996.
9
Hail reports, 1 inch or larger
0
Hail, 2 inches or larger
36
Damaging gusts, 58 mph+
5
Winter weather events since 1996
3
Heat events since 1996
2
Cold events since 1996
Largest hail
May 16, 2007
1.75 inches
Strongest measured or estimated gust
July 26, 1999
81 mph
More event types since 1996
| Dust storms and dust devils | 34 | 4 |
Costliest events since 1996
- Aug 9, 2017Thunderstorm Wind$50,000
National Weather Service narrative
Power was out in Lordsburg area for over 30 hours. The wind created a dust storm with near zero visibility west of Lordsburg near mile marker 6 which caused a 2015 Dodge truck towing a travel trailer to rear end an 18 wheeler which had slowed down due to the conditions. One woman in the Dodge truck was killed and serious injuries were sustained to the driver of the truck.
- Aug 9, 2017Thunderstorm Wind$25,000
National Weather Service narrative
About 20 power poles were down between Animas and Rodeo. Power was out for over 36 hours in these areas.
- May 16, 2007Hail$5,000
National Weather Service narrative
Downburst winds gusting to an estimated 80 mph drove a large amount of quarter size hail into the sides of buildings on the Midbar Ranch. All screens on the windward side were destroyed. Bark was stripped from trees on the windward side of trunks. Tall grass was stripped to near the ground.
- Jul 15, 2004Thunderstorm Wind$3,000
National Weather Service narrative
Thunderstorm outflow winds gusted to 70 mph in Lordsburg, blowing down power lines and trees throughout the town.
- Oct 5, 2015Thunderstorm Wind$2,000
National Weather Service narrative
An upper low was moving through Southern California with southwest flow aloft across the region. A surface low and associated cold front moved through Southern New Mexico. Dew points were well into the 50s and southeast surface winds provided sufficient wind shear for severe thunderstorms.
- Jul 10, 2013Hail$500
National Weather Service narrative
Trained spotters reported golf ball size hail and damage to crops and trees. There was also a broken house window.
- Storm Events records before 1996 cover only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail. Damage figures are as reported by the National Weather Service at the time, not adjusted for inflation.
NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, 1950 to 2026, issued October 26, 2026.
Weather records
From Redrock 1 Nne, 29 miles from the county’s population centre, with records from 1958.
- All-time high
- 110°FJun 24, 2017
- All-time low
- −3°FDec 8, 1978
- Warmest night
- 80°FJul 5, 2018
- Coldest day
- 27°FDec 23, 1990
- Wettest day
- 4.25 inOct 11, 1932
- Snowiest day
- 8.0 inDec 6, 1912
- Hottest year
- 2025mean 62.0°F
- Coldest year
- 1964mean 57.5°F
- Wettest year
- 198521.31 in
- Driest year
- 19564.36 in
- Snowiest season
- 14.8 in1967-68
Median first snow
December 28
Earliest: October 24, 1921
Median last snow
January 23
Latest: April 22, 1957
29 of 85 winters had no measurable snow.
Station Redrock 1 Nne (USC00297340), 4,056 ft elevation, 29.0 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1958 to October 26, 2026; 98.4% of days in the last 30 years are complete. Records at a single station can differ from a city’s official threaded record, which may combine several stations.
NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily.
Federal disaster declarations
10 since 1953. The most recent: Covid-19 Pandemic, April 5, 2020.
| Apr 5, 2020 | Biological | DR-4529-NM |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | EM-3460-NM |
| Aug 30, 2006 | Severe Storm | DR-1659-NM |
| Sep 7, 2005 | Hurricane | EM-3229-NM |
| May 10, 2000 | Fire | EM-3154-NM |
| Jun 7, 1993 | Flood | DR-992-NM |
| Jan 18, 1985 | Flood | DR-731-NM |
| Oct 24, 1983 | Flood | DR-692-NM |
| Jan 29, 1979 | Flood | DR-571-NM |
| Nov 20, 1972 | Flood | DR-361-NM |
This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries, retrieved October 30, 2026. Statewide declarations are not listed.
How this compares
Where Hidalgo County stands among 33 counties in New Mexico and 3,143 in the United States.
| Tornadoes since 1950 | 3 | 28 / 33 |
| Tornadoes rated F3/EF3 or stronger | 0 | — |
| Tropical cyclones within 50 mi | 0 | — |
| Hurricane-strength passes within 50 mi | 0 | — |
| Wildfire acres since 1984 | 604,588 | 3 / 33 |
| Flood insurance claims | 3 | 28 / 33 |
| Flood insurance paid | $28,000 | 27 / 33 |
| Disaster declarations | 10 | 18 / 33 |
| Flood events since 1996 | 11 | 32 / 33 |
| Hail and wind events since 1996 | 83 | 32 / 33 |
| Winter storm events since 1996 | 5 | 32 / 33 |
| Reported damage since 1996 | $86,000 | 33 / 33 |
| River crests at major flood stage | 0 | — |
| High tide flooding days a year, last 10 years | 0.0 | — |
| Months in severe drought since 1895 | 268 | 5 / 33 |
| Medium or heavy smoke days a year, last 10 years | 5.5 | 33 / 33 |
| Earthquakes M4+ within 50 mi since 1900 | 12 | 11 / 33 |
| Earthquakes M2.5+ in the county since 1973 | 14 | 6 / 33 |
Neighbouring counties
| Cochise County AZ | 18 | 0 |
| Grant County | 7 | 0 |
| Greenlee County AZ | 0 | 0 |
| Luna County | 4 | 1 |
Sources and vintage
Every number on this page comes from these public records.
- Tornadoes NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, through 2025.
- Tropical cyclones NOAA National Hurricane Center HURDAT2 (Atlantic; Northeast and Central Pacific), through 2025.
- Wildfire USGS/USFS Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity, through 2026.
- Storm events NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, through 2026.
- Flood insurance OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026.
- Declarations OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2, retrieved October 30, 2026.
- Weather records NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily, station USC00297340.
- River crests NOAA National Weather Service, National Water Prediction Service river gauges, retrieved October 30, 2026.
- Drought NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, through September 2026.
- Smoke NOAA NESDIS Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, retrieved October 30, 2026.
- Landslides USGS Landslide Inventories across the United States, version 3.0 (2025).
- Earthquakes USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog (ComCat), retrieved October 30, 2026.
Joins, thresholds and known limits are set out in the methodology. Found an error? Report it. Page built October 30, 2026.