Jemez Springs, NM Hail Storm – August 2025

What Happened

A severe hail storm moved through the Jemez Springs, NM area on August 1, 2025, with verified stones up to 2 inches and a long run of dual-polarization radar detections through the afternoon and evening. The event produced 17 NWS alerts from 2:39 PM MDT through 8:26 PM MDT, with the strongest radar-derived hail signal at 7:41 PM MDT.

Early alerts around 2:39 PM and 3:07 PM MDT pointed to 1-inch hail in the warning area. By 3:17 PM MDT, the signal was reinforced by radar and spotter verification. The storm then broadened. Alerts at 3:44 PM MDT and 4:24 PM MDT climbed to 1.5 inches and 1.75 inches, and another verified report at 4:38 PM MDT held the hail size at 1 inch.

Field reports began to show surface impact as the storm matured. Around 3:46 PM MDT, an observer reported fast-moving water over 380 in Lincoln. At 4:40 PM MDT, a Cocorahs observer near Ocate reported hail around quarter to half dollar size, with the report repeated in the storm log. Later in the evening, flood-related reports added depth to the event. Water six inches deep was reported on Park Lake Drive at 9:50 PM MDT, and a corrected flash flood report on 8th Street near Eddy Avenue noted five inches of water at 9:20 PM MDT. A large tree was also blown over around 9:00 PM MDT.

Radar continued to detect larger stones into the evening. Alerts at 5:56 PM, 7:06 PM, and 7:41 PM MDT showed 1.25-inch, 1.75-inch, and 2-inch hail estimates. The final alert at 8:26 PM MDT was backed by radar and spotter verification at 1.25 inches.

Damage Assessment

The field reports show a storm that produced more than hail alone. Water ran over roadways in Lincoln, standing water reached six inches on Park Lake Drive, and five inches of water was reported on 8th Street near Eddy Avenue. A tree blowdown was also reported late in the event. The impacts were spread across the broader storm path, with hail reports near Ocate and flood-related observations farther along the same storm sequence.

The hail reports and radar timing line up with a storm that kept producing damaging stones through multiple waves. The 4:40 PM MDT spotter report near Ocate placed hail in the quarter to half dollar range. Later radar detections moved higher, with 1.75-inch and 2-inch estimates in the evening hours. The combination of radar and ground reports shows a hail core that persisted after the first warning period and remained active into the nighttime hours.

This was not a short-lived burst. The alerts ran for nearly six hours, and the reports show both hail and water impacts at different points in the storm track. Lincoln saw fast-moving water early. Park Lake Drive and 8th Street saw standing water later. The tree blowdown came near 9:00 PM MDT, after the main hail sequence had already produced several stronger radar estimates.

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