San Juan County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within San Juan County: 1.
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 (214), AZ GS (1), NASA (1).

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. Aug 21, 2024Thunderstorm Wind$3.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Farmington Four Corners Regional Airport observed thunderstorm wind gusts peaking at 66 mph. These thunderstorm wind gusts produced thick blowing dust, power outages to 8,000 customers, and a down 69kV power line resulting in power outages around Aztec and surrounding areas. Power line damage cost is an estimate.

2. Aug 1, 2010Flash Flood$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Significant flooding plagued the Farmington area during the evening hours of August 1st. More than 2.5 inches of rain fell in 3 hours, but most of the rain fell in about a 30 minute time frame. Some of the hardest hit areas are described in the following paragraphs. ||The Webb Chevrolet-Toyota dealership and neighboring businesses along East Main Street between Gila St. and Hannon Dr. was described as a swamp. Weeds and shrubs were wrapped around the tires of each truck as water, mud and debris flooded into the lot. The force of the water moved one truck about six feet, and moved a nearby dumpster approximately 100 yards. Also in this area, a man whose car got stuck at the…

3. Aug 26, 2015Flash Flood$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Blanco Arroyo overflowed its banks and, combined with heavy rain across the area, led to significant flash flooding. Firefighters rescued a few individuals from the roofs of their homes, otherwise no major injuries or fatalities were reported. Several homes were reportedly shifted off their foundation and a propane tank at one of those homes was swept away in the flood waters. Multiple classrooms were damaged at three area schools, causing all schools to be closed on the 27th and one school, Lydia Rippey Elementary, to be closed on the 28th. The Aztec Municipal Golf Course at Hidden Valley was closed until further notice due to damages incurred from the flooding. A large rock…

4. Aug 5, 2016Flash Flood$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Serious flash flooding developed on Salt Creek Wash and created major damage to a community near Mesa Farm Road. Three to four homes were severely damaged and one home was destroyed. Several vehicles, motorcycles, recreational vehicles washed into creek and destroyed. Water rescues occurred from roof tops and amazingly no one was killed.

5. Jun 18, 2012Wildfire, Northwest Plateau$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A wildfire along CR 1491 burned quickly out of control in the bosque along the San Juan River and consumed more than 350 acres, 5 homes, and 12 outbuildings.

6. Aug 25, 2024Flash Flood$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy runoff within the Baker Arroyo jumped out and flooded west and south, impacting U.S. Highway 64, Christ the King Catholic Church, the Central Consolidated School District and the Chat and Chew restaurant. At least two homes were destroyed or made uninhabitable. Damage cost is an estimate.

7. Jun 21, 2024Flash Flood$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Multiple reports of flash flooding across Farmington including along the La Plata and San Juan Rivers, including vehicles driving across flooded low water crossings. A video from the emergency manager showed the La Plata River raging and partly out of its banks. These included along Southside River Road on the west side of Farmington. A vehicle was stuck in a ditch along the San Juan River, thankfully the driver made it out safely. There was an overflowing ditch and arroyo with fast moving water at Brookside Drive and Navajo Street. There was several inches of water moving across Crouch Mesa east of Farmington and south of Flora Vista. U.S. Highway 64 at Andrea Drive and between…

8. Jun 15, 2014Wildfire, Northwest Plateau$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Incident management reported 14,712 acres consumed in the Chuska Mountains to the east of Crystal, New Mexico. At least 24 structures and 4 outbuildings were destroyed.

9. Aug 26, 2015Thunderstorm Wind$350,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Significant damage reported on a property near Flora Vista likely the result of intense microburst winds. The winds downed over 100 very large cottonwood trees, including a few that were completely uprooted. The tops of a few trees were completely snapped off, as well. Metal roofing on a barn was torn off and horizontally displaced about 20 yards on nearby power poles. The falling timber along with the wind itself caused damage to a barn roof, a pop up camper, a canoe, a trampoline, and a camper. Based on the EF-toolkit winds from this storm may have reached as high as 104 mph. No injuries or further damages resulted from the microburst.

10. May 16, 2021Wildfire, Northwest Plateau$300,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    A grass fire started on Road 5211 near U.S. Highway 64 between Bloomfield and Lee Acres on the evening of May 16th. The fire spread quickly and engulfed a family home with a detached garage. The residence was completely destroyed, and the three family dogs that were inside at the time tragically died. There was also reported damage to an additional outbuilding. The fire prompted an evacuation of the area, but residents were permitted to return late on May 16th. By the morning of May 17th, the fire was 5 percent contained, but no longer posed a threat to any other structures. Damages are estimated for the loss of the residence as well as damages to the outbuilding.

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

106°FJul 10, 2021

All-time low

−20°FJan 13, 1963

Warmest night

79°FJul 16, 2007

Coldest day

6°FDec 12, 1961

Wettest day

1.75 inJul 8, 2006

Snowiest day

11.0 inDec 10, 1961

Hottest year

2024mean 55.5°F

Coldest year

1948mean 50.5°F

Wettest year

195713.74 in

Driest year

20203.37 in

Station Farmington Four Corners Regional A (USW00023090), 5,499 ft elevation, 1.4 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1948 to October 26, 2026; 95.7% 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 USW00023090.
• 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.