RUIDOSO, N.M. – Parts of Lincoln County in New Mexico, including Ruidoso, were put under a Flash Flood Warning on Thursday, as the National Weather Service warned of heavy rainfall associated with monsoonal moisture pushing through the state.
The warning was one of hundreds issued during the monsoon season, which began in June and will run through the end of September.
With the latest alerts, forecasters were particularly concerned with the Blue 2, South Fork and McBride burn scars, where more than half an inch of rain had fallen.
Video from near the Village of Ruidoso showed a debris flow of rock and floodwaters racing down a hillside, forcing officials to close several backroads.
“Impacts will include but are not limited to all nearby reservoirs, bridges, culverts and roadways associated with these drainages, especially at those points where streams merge,” NWS meteorologists stated. “Vulnerable properties in low-lying areas are especially at risk. The debris flow can consist of rock, mud, vegetation and other loose materials.”
Photo out of Hollywood, NM on Sept. 18, 2025
(USGS / FOX Weather)
SOUTHWEST MONSOON SEASON: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
The wet weather did not trigger a Flash Flood Emergency, which is a more heightened stage of flash flooding alert.
To warrant this designation, catastrophic flooding must be ongoing with the potential for devastating, life-threatening consequences.
The NWS began issuing Flash Flood Emergency alerts in 2003, and each year, only a few dozen are typically issued.
According to NOAA statistics, less than 1% of all flood alerts are classified as Flash Flood Emergencies.
Ruidoso and nearby communities have been placed under nearly a dozen Flash Flood Emergencies in 2025, including when three people were swept away by raging floodwaters in July.
Heavy rainfall caused the Rio Ruidoso to rise to a record-breaking 20 feet and led to dozens of water rescues.
Devastating flooding has claimed three lives, including two children, in New Mexico. The unprecedented flooding was unleashed by torrential rain, causing a rapid and historic rise in the Rio Ruidoso River. It crested at a record-breaking 20.24 feet. FOX Weather Correspondent Robert Ray is on the ground in Ruidoso with the latest.
Overall, cities across the Desert Southwest receive up to half of their annual precipitation during the monsoon months of June, July, August and September, but these totals can vary dramatically from year to year.
For much of the region, the wet weather pattern fades by mid-September, giving way to drier conditions during the late fall and winter.
The remnants of Tropical Storm Mario are helping to energize the threat for heavy rainfall across California, Nevada and Arizona, but most of the tropical-infused precipitation is expected to stay west of the Ruidoso area.
Southwest rainfall expectations
