Frigid temps settle in across region

Winter has walked in our back door and made itself at home for at least the next week.

But while there is a 50% chance of show tonight and into Thursday morning, forecasters human and computer are not expecting much accumulation for eastern New Mexico.

“I think the main concern for us is extreme cold,” said Ruthann Kelly, the emergency management director for Clovis and Curry County.

“Wednesday night and into Thursday morning we hit a low of 22 and (one) chart is showing a wind chill of 12. That will go into Friday so there definitely could be icy roads if we have any kind of moisture.”

The National Weather Service is predicting high temperatures in the 30s through Friday with a chance of snow almost daily well into next week.

Overnight low temperatures are expected to plummet into the 20s each day this week.

But Kelly said the Clovis-Portales area is not expected to see more than an inch of snow over the next few days.

Dreams of homebound school children building snow families in yards are unlikely realities, for us anyway.

The region has not seen any moisture since mid-November and no snow accumulation since 4-8 inches fell more than 11 months ago across Clovis-Portales.

Dress in layers anyway.

Winds are expected to be from the north at 20-30 mph most of Thursday with gusts higher.

This week could see the coldest temperature so far this season. The Agricultural Science Center north of Clovis reported Dec. 11 saw a low temperature of 19 degrees. The coldest temperature reported last year at the ag-science center was 2-below zero on Jan. 16.

Overnight freezes are expected to continue for at least the next 10 days though Friday could see a high in the 50s.