Heavy, persistent rainfall across the Four Corners region has triggered widespread flooding, forced evacuations and produced at least one confirmed tornado near Santa Fe, officials said.
Storms leave rivers swollen and neighborhoods affected
Crews on Sunday searched evacuated neighborhoods in New Mexico for hazards left by receding floodwaters, including downed power lines and stranded animals, while the National Weather Service issued a flood watch covering much of the Four Corners area — where Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah meet — as additional showers and thunderstorms moved through.
The region has seen unusually heavy rain since Wednesday that caused rivers to surge, flooded homes and prompted water rescues, officials said. In Farmington and surrounding communities in northwest New Mexico, swollen rivers were beginning to recede but many residents remained evacuated and hundreds were without power.
“The soils are very saturated right now, so it’s not going to take much rain for at least the small creeks and streams to overflow,” said Kris Sanders, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in Grand Junction, Colorado.
A tornado touched down around 7 p.m. Saturday in Santa Fe, said Scott Overpeck, a meteorologist with the weather service office in Albuquerque. Forecasters were working to determine whether additional twisters struck elsewhere in the state; Overpeck did not have damage estimates.
“I was pretty surprised at what I was seeing and just started snapping photos,” said Michelle Vialpando, who photographed a tornado north of the Aldea de Santa Fe neighborhood. “I was literally in shock. I’ve lived in Santa Fe my entire life and have never seen anything like that before.”
Officials warn more rain could produce additional flooding
Forecasters cautioned that the saturated ground across parts of the Southwest leaves small streams and creeks prone to rapid overflow during additional downpours. Kris Sanders said that with soils so soaked, even modest additional rainfall could trigger renewed flooding.
- Areas under flood watch: large portions of the Four Corners region, including parts of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah, per the National Weather Service.
- Reported impacts: river flooding, evacuations, water rescues, hundreds without power in Farmington-area communities.
- Tornado report: a twister in central Santa Fe about 7 p.m. Saturday; photo documentation from residents confirmed the event.
Local emergency crews, utility workers and weather offices continued assessments Sunday and into Monday as showers persisted in the region. The National Weather Service urged residents in low-lying areas and near streams or rivers to stay alert for updated watches and warnings and to follow directions from local officials.
Authorities emphasized that rapidly rising water and saturated terrain can create hazardous conditions even after the heaviest rainfall has ended, and they reminded people to avoid driving through flooded roadways and to report downed power lines to utility companies.
