Tornado touches down near Socorro

SOCORRO, N.M. (KRQE) - Powerful storms have been hitting New Mexico Sunday and a tornado touched down south of Magdalena.

Magdalena marshal Larry Cearley says the tornado touched down around 1:51 p.m., about 1.5 miles southwest of Magdalena off State Highway 107.

He says it stayed on the ground for about five to six minutes, dissipated and then touched down again on the other side of the highway.

“Everybody was panicking,” Cearley said. “We had people driving really fast through town with flashers on trying to get people out of residences in case this thing hit.”

Marshal Cearley says the tornado came within about a half-mile of homes.

He says the twister did pick up cedar trees and tear up fences.

Cearley also says the storm came with quarter-sized hail.

There are no reported injuries.