Afternoon blizzard rocks eastern New Mexico

Blowing snow, which led to near-zero visibility, was blamed for more than two dozen vehicle crashes Monday afternoon across Curry County.

No fatalities were reported, but at least two people were taken to area hospitals with what Sheriff Michael Brockett termed “serious injuries.” He said one person was reportedly ejected from a vehicle in a crash north of Clovis but he did not know the victim’s condition.

The most spectacular crash happened about 3 p.m. outside the port of entry west of Texico on U.S. 60/84. Brockett said the driver of a Mazda slowed to about 35 mph because of the low visibility. A Subaru driver then hit the Mazda from behind. That led to a series of crashes involving 15 vehicles, including five large commercial trucks.

Westbound lanes were closed for almost four hours and eastbound lanes for nearly six hours while wreckage was cleared.

Police call logs showed more than 24 motor vehicle accidents were reported to dispatchers between 2:54 p.m. and 7:40 p.m. Monday. Many of those accidents were recorded as hit-and-run and most requested ambulances.

Clovis Police Chief Roy Rice said about 10 vehicle accidents were reported in the city on Monday afternoon.

Ruthann Kelly, emergency management director for Clovis and Curry County, described the storm as a “very rare occurrence for us.”

In addition to the crash outside Texico, Kelly said major accidents were reported between Clovis and Portales, between Clovis and Melrose and on State Road 209 north of Clovis.

Portales reported few weather-related problems, but multiple roads were closed or near impassable to the north of Clovis and across the northern Texas Panhandle because of blizzard conditions.

Interstate 40 was closed between Tucumcari and Amarillo due to snow and winds estimated at 65 mph at times.

Most of the region saw less than 2 inches of snow, but the winds blowing it around, resulting in zero visibility, were responsible for the wrecks, Brockett said.

The storm began clearing out before nightfall and the forecast calls for what Kelly termed “normal winter” days ahead.

Temperatures the next few days should see highs near 50 with gusty winds at times and a chance of rain on Thursday.

Grant McGee of The News contributed to this report.