Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Staff photo: Tony Bullocks A silo came crashing down onto a pick-up truck during a “wet microburst” Monday afternoon on North Prince Street. The National Weather Service in Albuquerque recorded wind gusts up to 70 mph and 2 inches of rain. One victim sustained minor injuries and was treated at Plains Regional Medical Center, according to officials.
link Staff photo: Tony Bullocks
A silo came crashing down onto a pick-up truck during a “wet microburst” Monday afternoon on North Prince Street. The National Weather Service in Albuquerque recorded wind gusts up to 70 mph and 2 inches of rain. One victim sustained minor injuries and was treated at Plains Regional Medical Center, according to officials.
Deputy Editor
A strong storm is being blamed for a the collapse of a silo on north Prince Street Monday afternoon that hit a truck and injured one person.
According to EMS Director Karen Burns, the Clovis Fire Department is blaming the storm — which produced wind gusts up to 70 mph, according to the National Weather Service — for blowing over the silo.
Burns said the fire department responded to a call at 2:22 p.m. Monday. When responders arrived on scene, Burns said the silo had been “completely destroyed.”
“It completely destroyed the one silo,” Burns said. “It was totally gone; it was laying on its side and mangled.”
According to Curry County Undersheriff Mike Reeves, one person was injured and transported to Plains Regional Medical Center to be treated for minor injuries. Reeves said the injuries were not life threatening. The victim’s name was not released.
“According to information gathered at the scene, once part of it came down, then everyone got away as best as they could,” Battalion Chief Montie Powell said.
Kay Doyle, director of marketing and communications for Peavey Mills, who owns the silo, said several grain bins were also damaged along with vehicles.
“All employees are safe,” she said. “We did decide to close the facility for today as a safety precaution.”
Doyle was unsure of how long it would take the facility to make repairs.
NWS Meteorologist Brian Guyer said the type of storm that caused the silo to fall over is called a “wet microburst,” which is similar to dry microbursts that create dust storms.
“People might be more familiar with a dry microburst with dust storms,” Guyver said. “This is the opposite scenario, where there's so much rain surging down from the cloud, it slams on the ground and can cause very localized damage.”
Guyver said the area received close to 2 inches of rain in addition to strong winds.
