Lincoln County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Lincoln County: 0.
2. 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.

Every large fire

1. 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

1. 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.

Claims by ZIP code

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.

River crests

River gauges

1. Crests are the highest and the recent crests the National Weather Service lists for each river gauge in the county that has a flood stage, not every flood. Flood categories use each gauge's current flood stages; crests from before levees, dams or channel changes may not be comparable. Crests measured on an old datum are left out of the rankings.

NOAA National Water Prediction Service gauge records, retrieved October 30, 2026.

1. 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.

Every earthquake of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles

1. 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).
2. 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.

Volcanoes within 100 miles

1. U.S. volcanoes within 100 miles, from the USGS Volcano Hazards Program. The threat category is the USGS 2018 National Volcanic Threat Assessment, which ranks volcanoes by how hazardous their past eruptions were and how many people and how much infrastructure lie near them. It is not a forecast of eruption.

USGS Volcano Hazards Program, retrieved October 30, 2026.

Mapped landslides

Mapped by USGS Conterminous (155), USGS Post-Fire Debris Flows (30).

1. 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.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Jul 8, 2025Debris Flow$50.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Extremely heavy rainfall from slow moving thunderstorms resulted in catastrophic flash flooding and destructive debris flows on and downstream of the South Fork burn scar. Debris flows and a record rise on the Rio Ruidoso from 1.43 feet to 20.24 feet in approximately 30 minutes overtopped bridges and roads, pushed some houses off their foundations and down canyons and hillsides, forced power outages, and resulted in water and sewer services. These extremely high flows destroyed the horse racetrack at Ruidoso Downs. Swift water teams rescued 65 individuals from homes, RV trailers, vehicles and from flood waters and debris flows. Up to 150 families and 400 homes were believed to be…

2. Jun 4, 2012Wildfire, South Central Mountains$26.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   This lightning sparked wildfire erupted on the afternoon of June 4, 2012 then spread rapidly overnight during strong gusty winds. The wildfire consumed more than 41,000 acres, destroyed 254 residential structures, 12 outbuildings, and forced numerous evacuations across the region.

3. Jul 26, 2008Flood$25.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Widespread, serious flooding occurred from the upper canyon of the Rio Ruidoso downstream through the towns of Ruidoso, Hollywood and Ruidoso Downs as far east as Fox Caves. Flooding also occurred along the Rio Bonito from the dam at Bonito Lake downstream to State Road 48. Flooding was extensive in Ruidoso, not only along the Rio Ruidoso, Cedar Creek and other small streams, but also throughout the town from the 6 to 7 inches of rainfall that fell there. One man was killed when we was swept away by the raging Rio Ruidoso, but no other substantial injuries were reported. A total of 500 structures, including campers and mobile homes were damaged. Around 200 houses were damaged, and…

4. Jun 17, 2024Wildfire, South Central Mountains$23.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The South Fork Fire was discovered on June 17th within tribal land along the Rio Ruidoso west of Ruidoso. It blew up in size within its first two days reaching 15,000 acres and destroying an estimated 1,400 structures. Two lives were lost, an as of yet identified person in a vehicle on Rainier Road due to the limited remains, and a 60 year old Patrick Pearson within the Swiss Chalet Motel. The fire's growth slowed considerably by the 19th due to heavy rainfall causing flash flooding on the burn scar. Flash flooding and debris flows exacerbated recovery efforts. Many of the structures lost were located within the eastern and northeastern portion of the burn area including areas…

5. Jun 29, 2024Debris Flow$10.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rains over the recent South Fork burn area totaling up to 1.48 inches at the Cow Mountain RAWS and estimate by radar to have surpassed 2 inches caused flash flooding heavy debris flows along the Rio Ruidoso. This torrent impacted several bridges and water crossings including, N. Eagle Drive, Grindstone Canyon Road, Country Club Drive. Numerous homes were impacted with a total of 26 swift water rescues stretched across the Rio Ruidoso and Cedar Creek drainages through the Village of Ruidoso. Fire crews were pulled out of sensitive areas due to the threat of heavy rains and an evacuation order was issued for the Village of Ruidoso shortly after 4pm MDT. The debris flow…

6. Apr 12, 2022Wildfire, South Central Mountains$10.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The McBride Fire started on Tuesday, April 12, 2022, in Gavilan Canyon within the Village of Ruidoso and spread quickly due to 70 to 80 mph winds in the area. By Thursday, April 14th, the fire had burned more than 5,700 acres and burned 207 homes and structures while threatening 1,000 more. The wildfire prompted mandatory evacuations for an estimated 5,000 people. By Sunday, April 17th, the wildfire grew to 6,185 acres, but was 52 percent contained which allowed for evacuation orders to be lifted. At the end of the month on April 30th, the McBride Fire was 95 percent contained. The wildfire is estimated to be fully contained in early May. The cause of the wildfire is unknown.…

7. Mar 24, 2002Wildfire$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Winds of 45 to 55 mph whipped an accidential fire into a fast moving wildfire that consumed 12,000 acres and 20 homes before crews and air tank attacks gained control in much lighter winds.

8. Apr 12, 2022Wildfire, South Central Mountains$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A downed power line about 4.3 miles southwest of Nogal sparked the Nogal Canyon Fire on April 12, 2022. This fire spread to 400 acres by April 13th and destroyed 6 homes and 8 outbuildings while threatening 50 others. Residences in Nogal Canyon up to New Mexico State Highway 37 were given evacuation orders. By April 17th, the fire had spread to 433 acres with 4 percent containment. By the end of the month on April 30th, the Nogal Canyon Fire was 84 percent contained with full containment anticipated in May. Damages are estimated.

9. Jun 16, 2011Wildfire, South Central Mountains$3.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   This human caused fire, named the Swallow Fire for starting on Swallow Drive, burned 10 acres of land in a wooded Ruidoso neighborhood. Nine homes were lost to the blaze.

10. May 7, 2000Wildfire$2.0 million
    National Weather Service narrative

    The hot and dry weather throughout the spring culminated in a series of dastivating wildfires that sorched nearly 90,000 acres of forest and ravaged Los Alamos and the adjacent Los Alamos National Labratory (LANL). Wildfire also threatened eastern areas of Ruidoso.A prescribed burn which was ignited May 4 on property of the Bandilier National Monument quickly escaped its project area and then was fanned by gusty winds on May 6 and May 7 into a wildfire known as the Cerro Grande Fire. Despite containment efforts on May 8 and May 9, gusty winds and hot temperatures the afternoon and evening of May 10 caused the Cerro Grande Fire to rage into a fast moving fire storm which swept into…

1. 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.

All-time high

101°FJul 14, 1940

All-time low

−15°FFeb 15, 1895

Warmest night

78°FJul 1, 2002

Coldest day

11°FJan 11, 1962

Wettest day

3.80 inSep 26, 1936

Snowiest day

15.0 inFeb 22, 1931

Hottest year

2003mean 56.1°F

Coldest year

1919mean 50.2°F

Wettest year

194139.92 in

Driest year

19343.82 in

Snowiest season

66.5 in2009-10

Station Mountain Park (USC00295960), 6,808 ft elevation, 34.0 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1894 to October 26, 2026; 93.8% 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.

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.

Neighbouring counties

• 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 USC00295960.
• 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.
• Volcanoes USGS Volcano Hazards Program, U.S. volcanoes and 2018 threat assessment.
• 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.