New Mexico

What kinds of natural disasters happen in New Mexico?

Published

1 year ago

September 18, 2024

What kinds of natural disasters happen in New Mexico?

NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – New Mexico is well known for its many days of sunshine, but in a desert climate, severe weather can hit rapidly. If you live in or visit New Mexico here are the types of severe weather to be prepared for:

KRQE’s Weather Forecasts

Thunderstorms and Flash Floods

One of the most prevalent types of hazardous weather in New Mexico is the thunderstorm. All New Mexico counties experience intense thunderstorms that produce strong winds, large hail, heavy rain, and even deadly lightning strikes. Large storms occur most frequently in eastern areas of the state from April through June and throughout the rest of the state from July through August.

Thunderstorms can also lead to flash flooding, which can quickly become dangerous and can harm people, structures, and the surrounding environment. Flash flooding is the most devastating after wildfires and is often seen in locations with burn scars, such as the Hermit’s Peak/Calf Canyon fire burn scar area and the South Fork/Salt fire burn scar area.

PICTURES: Rain over burn scars causes flooding in New Mexico communities

Tornadoes

Although mostly weak and short-lived, tornadoes have occurred in most New Mexico counties, typically taking place about 10 times per year. When it comes to tornadoes, the most at-risk part of the state is in the east from April through July, during thunderstorm season. However, more common than tornadoes in New Mexico are landspouts, which are tornado variations similar to dust devils that can form without the presence of strong thunderstorms.

Eastern New Mexico cleans up after 2 tornados roll through area

Earthquakes

Earthquakes can also occur in New Mexico from both human and natural causes. Human activity like mining, fracking, and weapon testing can shake those nearby while faults and volcanic activity can cause more significant earthquakes.

New Mexico doesn’t typically see very large earthquakes, but smaller ones are fairly common along the Rio Grande Valley, due to the geology of the Rio Grande Rift, and near Socorro, due to the activity of magma. Because most earthquakes take place on plate boundaries, New Mexico is spared from the more severe earthquakes that affect states on the coasts.

Two earthquakes reported in Bernalillo County

Wildfires

Wildfires are some of the most devastating natural disasters that occur in New Mexico. Drought has its own disaster implications, but it also contributes to the start and spread of wildfires throughout the state, as do strong winds and dry vegetation. Since the year 2000, over 7 million acres total have been burned by fires in New Mexico. Most of the state’s wildfires are human or lightning-caused and can range from small blazes to burning thousands of acres.

KRQE’s Wildfire Coverage

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New Mexico

Understanding New Mexico’s data center boom | Opinion

Published

2 hours ago

January 8, 2026

Press Room

Understanding New Mexico’s data center boom | Opinion

Paul Gessing, Rio Grande Foundation
| Las Cruces Sun-News

After years of failure to land a “big fish” business for New Mexico’s economy (or effectively use the oil and gas revenues to grow the economy) Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham with the help of her Economic Development Secretary Rob Black have lured no fewer than three large data centers to New Mexico. These data centers are being built to serve the booming world of Artificial Intelligence (AI), and they will have profound impacts on New Mexico.

It is our view that having these data centers locate in New Mexico is better than having them locate elsewhere. While we have many differences of opinion with this governor, we are pleased to see her get serious about growing and diversifying New Mexico’s oil-dependent economy albeit quite late in her second term.

Sadly, the governor and legislature have chosen not to use broad based economic reforms like deregulation or tax cuts to improve New Mexico’s competitiveness. But, with the failure of her “preferred” economic development “wins” like Maxeon and Ebon solar both of which the governor announced a few years ago, but haven’t panned out, the focus on a more realistic strategy is welcome and long overdue.

Currently, three new data centers are slated to be built in New Mexico:

Oracle’s Project Jupiter in Santa Teresa with an investment of $165 billion.
Project Zenith slated to be built in Roswell amounts to a $11.7 billion investment.
New Era Energy & Digital, Inc. While the overall investment is unclear, the energy requirement is the largest of the three at 7 gigawatts (that’s seven times the power used by the City of San Francisco).

What is a data center? Basically, they are the real-world computing infrastructure that makes up the Internet. The rise of AI requires vast new computing power. It is critical that these facilities have uninterrupted electricity.

That electricity is going to be largely generated by traditional sources like natural gas and possibly nuclear. That contravenes New Mexico’s Energy Transition Act of 2019 which was adopted by this Gov. and many of the legislators still in office. Under the Act electrical power emissions are supposed to be eliminated in a few years.

With the amount of money being invested in these facilities and the simple fact that wind and solar and other “renewable” energy sources aren’t going to get the job done. In 2025 the Legislature passed and MLG signed HB 93 which allows for the creation of “microgrids” that won’t tax the grid and make our electricity more expensive, but the ETA will have to be amended or ignored to provide enough electricity for these data centers. There’s no other option.

New Mexicans have every right to wonder why powerful friends of the governor can set up their own natural gas microgrids while the rest of us face rising costs and decreased reliability from so-called “renewables.” Don’t get me wrong, having these data centers come to New Mexico is an economic boon.

But it comes tempered with massive subsidies including a 30-year property tax exemption and up to $165 billion in industrial revenue bonds. New Mexico is ideally suited as a destination for these data centers with its favorable climate and lack of natural disasters like hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods. We shouldn’t be giving away such massive subsidies.

Welcoming the data center boom to New Mexico better than rejecting them and pushing them to locate in other states. There is no way to avoid CO2 emissions whether they happen here or somewhere else. But, there are questions about both the electricity demand and subsidies that must be addressed as New Mexico’s data center boom begins.

What will the Legislature, radical environmental groups, and future governors of our state do to hinder (or help) bring these data centers to our State? That is an open question that depends heavily on upcoming statewide elections. It is important that New Mexicans understand and appreciate these complicated issues.

Paul Gessing is president of New Mexico’s Rio Grande Foundation. The Rio Grande Foundation is an independent, nonpartisan, tax-exempt research and educational organization dedicated to promoting prosperity for New Mexico based on principles of limited government, economic freedom and individual responsibility

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New Mexico

New Mexico maintains full childhood vaccine recommendations despite HHS rollback

Published

14 hours ago

January 7, 2026

Press Room

New Mexico maintains full childhood vaccine recommendations despite HHS rollback

SANTA FE, N.M. (KFOX14/CBS4) – The New Mexico Department of Health says it will continue to recommend the full schedule of childhood vaccines.

State officials announced the move Tuesday, directly defying a new federal policy that scaled back routine immunization guidance.

The announcement comes after U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS), under Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., reduced the number of vaccines it recommends for all children.

The New Mexico Department of Health stated the federal changes were “not based on new scientific evidence or safety data.”

“New Mexico will not follow the federal government in walking away from decades of proven public health practice,” said Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham. “Our recommendations remain unchanged.”

State health officials sought to reassure parents, emphasizing that vaccines remain widely available and covered by insurance.

“We know this is confusing for parents, but the science is clear: vaccines are safe, effective, and save children’s lives,” said Dr. Miranda Durham, chief medical officer for NMDOH.

All childhood vaccinations will continue to be covered under programs like Medicaid and the federal Vaccines for Children Program.

The state encourages parents to consult their healthcare providers using the American Academy of Pediatrics’ immunization schedule.

RECOMMENDED: CDC cuts childhood vaccine list, sparking healthcare professionals’ concerns

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