Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Rain hit eastern New Mexico hard Wednesday night, with Portales taking the brunt of the inclement weather with about an inch of rain, but emergency crews in both Portales and Clovis reported they responded to no calls for injuries.
Mark Fettig, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Albuquerque, said the highest rain total reported in Roosevelt County was 1.1 inches a mile northeast of Portales. The biggest issues in Curry County were with dust and wind, Fettig said, but he noted reports of hail in Texico and west of Clovis, and rainfall measured at .78 inches a mile northwest of Clovis.
At the Cannon Air Force Base monitoring station, Fettig said, there were reports of .55 inches of rain, with wind gusts of 69 mph and 4-inch diameter tree limbs broken.
Joshua Lucero: PNT correspndent
Wednesday evening's storm as seen from West 15th Lane and South Avenue O in Portales. The highest rain total reported in Roosevelt County was 1.1 inches.
As of 10:30 p.m., KVII-TV's School Net weather tracking system reported .98 inches of rain in Portales and .73 inches in Clovis.
Portales resident James Kratzer said a few gustnadoes, brief cloud spin-ups that form in severe thunderstorms, were reported in and around Roosevelt and Curry counties.
Kratzer monitors weather at Cannon Air Force Base and says winds were as high as 70 mph.
Several vehicles were reported abandoned on 18th Street Wednesday night in Portales because of severe flooding, according to Portales police, prompting officers to close off the street.
Dora Fire Chief Paul Luscombe said trees and power lines were down in the area but there was no significant damage. Luscombe said he's thankful people remained safe and that damage was minimal, a small price to pay for the rain the area needs.
"It was a pretty big event," Luscombe said. "Thank God for the rain. We'll take the hiccups as long as we get the rain."
Roosevelt County Emergency Management Director Keith Wattenbarger said the weather caused numerous issues, including a dust storm near the Melrose Bombing Range that put the area at zero visibility.
"We've had quite a few power lines down," Wattenbarger said. "Causey lost some power for a while. It looks like Dora was without power for a while."
The emergency response team was fortunate, Wattenbarger said, because storm spotters were on top of the matter early, and crews knew what to do because a drill last week fortuitously covered similar weather situations.
The same could not be said for the Tri-County Little League tournament. Zia Little League President Sheila Holley said all four Wednesday evening games were played in the minors division, but the rain wiped out all five games in the majors division.
"We've got to sit down (today) and figure all of this out," Holley said.
The weather may not cooperate then, either.
"NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) is predicting another couple days of this," Wattenbarger said. "With a couple of days in a row, you never know if things are going to intensify."
The biggest concerns, Wattenbarger said, deal with additional downed power lines and a chance for grassfires caused by lightning.
In Clovis, Xcel Energy reported a pair of outages that were each resolved within a half-hour timeframe. One incident knocked out power to seven customers, while another in west Clovis affected 1,395 customers from about 8:30 p.m. to 8:47 p.m.
Ken De Los Santos, emergency management director for Curry County, said nothing caused serious concerns, but noted the National Weather Service did issue an urban and small stream flooding advisory until around 10:15 p.m. Wednesday.
In Grady, where rain was measured at .5 inches by KVII-TV's School Net system, Mayor Wesley Shafer said the rain wasn't threatening but was certainly the biggest rainfall the town has had in quite some time.
Farmer Elmer White said Grady residents are used to high winds, and the rain had mostly subsided into a few puddles outside of his home around 8:45 p.m. White, who grows wheat and sorghum, said he'd be perfectly content if it rained throughout the night.
"It would be a lifesaver, because it is so, so dry," White said. "I'm 72 years old, or will be next month, and I've never seen it like this."
Wednesday rainfall as of 10:30 p.m.
Source: KVII-TV School Net
