Fire, rain in forecast

Eastern New Mexico on Monday was warned about fire and rain in alerts from the National Weather Service.

Roosevelt County was under a severe thunderstorm warning until 5 p.m. Monday. The National Weather Service reported a severe storm was located 9 miles southwest of Kenna -- 42 miles southwest of Portales -- at 4:08 p.m. It was moving northeast at 30 mph and included 60 mph wind gusts with hail the size of ping pong balls.

A fire weather watch was issued until 8 p.m. Tuesday for Curry County, while a severe thunderstorm watch was in effect until 10 p.m. Monday.

The region has been ripe for wildfires for months, the last significant moisture coming in the form of snow at the end of March.

Curry, De Baca, Quay and Roosevelt counties were all under thunderstorm watches. Forecasters placed the chance of rain near 60 percent, reporting storms would be isolated though some could be severe. Clear skies were expected after midnight Monday.