Rainstorms that soaked area 'quite prolific'

It’s county fair time. It must be the rainy season.

As usual, eastern New Mexico and the Texas Panhandle got wet just in time for the Curry County Fair to end and the Roosevelt County Fair to get started.

Annette Mokry, forecaster with the National Weather Service in Albuquerque, said the rains originated with thunderstorms that arrived in the Curry/Roosevelt counties area Saturday night.

“They didn’t move much at all,” Mokry said.  “They were quite prolific.”

Mokry reported on weather service monitors from around the region: 

• Three inches of rain 2.3 miles north-northeast of the center of Clovis

• 1.92 inches at a gauge in the center of Clovis

• 2.23 inches at Ned Houk Park north of Clovis

• 1.85 inches at Cannon Air Force Base

• 2.16 inches at a gauge six miles south of Texico and in Portales.

Curry County Extension Agent Mason Grau said there have been smiles all around.

“People are pretty happy to get some rain before fall,” Grau said.  “Rain to get the grass to grow.”

Grau said he heard the northern part of Curry County, around Grady and Broadview, received 4-6 inches of rain.

“I think everyone got a little bit of something,” Grau said.

“It certainly is a wonderful deal,” Roosevelt County Extension Agent Patrick Kircher said of the rain. 

“It’s a Godsend.”

Kircher said he received reports of as little as 2.25 inches of rain east of Dora to 7 inches over a three-day period from a landowner south-southeast of Elida.

Kircher said it’s late in the growing season.  He hopes between the soaking rain and ground temperature that area farmers will see good growth from grass and other crops that were planted.

Curry County Roads Superintendent Walon Jones said there were no problems with county roads washing away or flooding.

“It was slow enough so there were no major problems,” Jones said.  “It was a good, slow soaker.”

The moisture might not be through with the region just yet. Forecasts call for a chance of rain each of the next nine days, with chances higher this weekend and early next week.