Power Outage in Clovis, NM

There was significant damage to a dairy farm including roof and door damage with power lines and poles down. A transformer was also bent over on County Road 5 with multiple tree limbs down.

Estimated 60 to 70 mph winds from a severe thunderstorm moving eastward through Clovis downed power lines southeast of the area. Torrential rainfall also resulted in minor street flooding which caused traffic to be diverted for a short time period during the evening. Damages are estimated for the downed power lines.

Three large power transmission poles were snapped and toppled to the ground, no less than three center pivot irrigation sections were flipped over or destroyed, several sections of range land fencing were damaged, and dozens of small yucca plants were uprooted. The tornado missed a nearby residence by only 300 yards and barely missed the nearby Palla West Dairy. Damage amounts are estimated for utility and property losses.

Power lines reported down on the north side of Clovis.

The supercell thunderstorm that produced the tornado near Ranchvale lifted but a powerful rear flank downdraft resulted in damaging straight line winds across Clovis. A tree was blown onto a residence at 121 East Tierra Blanca Road causing a house fire. The roof was blown off Ellison's Barber shop on the northwest corner of 21st and Thorton.

An amateur radio operator reported quarter sized hail as well as downed power lines.

A tornado that developed in Roosevelt County continued north northwest into Curry County for about 3.5 miles then tracked north northeast an additional 4.6 miles into southern and east central sections of Clovis. Intensity of the tornado appeared to wane from EF2 120 mph in Roosevelt County to EF1 100 mph as it moved north into Curry County along Highway 70 where damage was limited to power lines and farm irrigation equipment. Intensity increased again to EF2 level 125 mph for a segment extending from about 4 miles south of Clovis northward into southeast Clovis which sustained the heaviest and most consistent damage as indicated by structural damage and downed power poles. The tornado appeared to wane again as it move north over Highway 60/84 just east of the intersection with Highway 70. The tornado track became intermittent north of Highway 60/84 with winds likely less than 85 mph before a final one half mile track of heavier damage and EF2 level winds of 120-125 mph. Average width was estimated at 200 yards. About 500 homes and other facilities sustained at least some damage ranging from complete destruction of mobile homes in southeast Clovis and wall collapse at several businesses along Highway 60/84 to the loss of roof shingles and roof top air conditioning units. Thirty five people suffered treatment injuries including five that required hospitalization. Two elderly citizens died later from injuries sustained during the event making these the first tornado fatalities in New Mexico since October of 1974.

A tornado that developed in Roosevelt County continued north northwest into Curry County for about 3.5 miles then tracked north northeast an additional 4.6 miles into southern and east central sections of Clovis. Intensity of the tornado appeared to wane from EF2 120 mph in Roosevelt County to EF1 100 mph as it moved north into Curry County along Highway 70 where damage was limited to power lines and farm irrigation equipment. Intensity increased again to EF2 level 125 mph for a segment extending from about 4 miles south of Clovis northward into southeast Clovis which sustained the heaviest and most consistent damage as indicated by structural damage and downed power poles. The tornado appeared to wane again as it move north over Highway 60/84 just east of the intersection with Highway 70. The tornado track became intermittent north of Highway 60/84 with winds likely less than 85 mph before a final one half mile track of heavier damage and EF2 level winds of 120-125 mph. Average width was estimated at 200 yards. About 500 homes and other facilities sustained at least some damage ranging from complete destruction of mobile homes in southeast Clovis and wall collapse at several businesses along Highway 60/84 to the loss of roof shingles and roof top air conditioning units. Thirty five people suffered treatment injuries including five that required hospitalization. Two elderly citizens died later from injuries sustained during the event making these the first tornado fatalities in New Mexico since October of 1974.

Power lines and several poles were blown down in southwest Clovis.

A lightning storm caused widespread power outages and damage to several homes.

After several days of relatively drier air at the surface resulted in more gusty winds than wetting precipitation, a moist backdoor cold front that invaded eastern New Mexico early on June 26, 2021. This boundary tracked westward through the state before stronger westerly flow aloft stalled it along the east slopes of the central mountain chain. Behind this boundary, deeper moisture across the plains of New Mexico resulted in an uptick in storm coverage. With a destabilizing atmosphere and increasing wind shear, the environment was supportive for strong to severe thunderstorms during the afternoon and evening hours. The greatest severe weather threat was across the southeastern portion of the area where these thunderstorms produced large hail and severe winds. A particularly strong thunderstorm near Logan, New Mexico produced several inches of hail accumulation while 70 mph wind speeds downed power lines, caused mobile home damage, and overturned a tractor trailer in the area.

A strong cold front moved into eastern New Mexico early May 9, 2021 and replenished low-level moisture across the area. A marginally unstable airmass was also in place across the plains which allowed for a severe weather threat that afternoon and evening. Thunderstorms first developed across the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and then tracked eastward to southeastward onto lower elevations where they organized into linear segments. The strongest storms of the day were located across east central New Mexico. A late evening severe thunderstorm near Grady produced a microburst with estimated 70 to 90 mph winds which caused significant damage to trees, power lines, and roofs. Another storm near Logan produced one-inch hail.

A storm system approaching New Mexico from the west on March 7, 2019 passed through the area on March 8, 2019. Widespread strong southwest winds developed during the morning and continued through the afternoon. Winds then shifted to the west as a potent cold front moved through the state during the evening. Winds peaked along the frontal boundary with many areas within the Rio Grande Valley into the eastern plains reporting wind gusts between 55 and 70 mph. The Albuquerque Sunport reported a peak wind gust to 69 mph. Hundreds of people lost power in the Albuquerque metro area as winds screamed through the city. Enough moisture was in place over the higher terrain for a few more inches of snow along with blowing snow and travel impacts. A sharp line of showers and thunderstorms formed over eastern New Mexico as the front progressed through the plains. Severe wind gusts reached 70 mph along the line of thunderstorms from Tucumcari to Clovis. Winds continued to howl along the east slopes of the central mountain chain through the night before slowly tapering off through the morning of the 9th.

A back door frontal boundary across northeastern New Mexico and a dryline draped over the far eastern plains set the stage for strong to severe thunderstorms across eastern New Mexico on the 22nd. Very hot and unstable conditions with abundant shear under northwest flow aloft allowed several storms to produce large hail, high winds, and even a tornado. Golf ball size hail was reported near Folsom. This same storm went on to produce a tornado northwest of Clayton. More storms around Curry County produced high winds and damage to power lines around Clovis.

A moist backdoor cold front pushed southwest across the eastern plains and through the central mountains. Strong instability and sufficient low level shear set the stage for a significant round of severe weather across eastern New Mexico. Storms began to form during the early afternoon hours with many cells becoming severe by midday. Several storms produced large hail, strong winds, and a few tornadoes. A powerful storm near Maxwell produced hen egg size hail and significant damage to cars and windows. A supercell thunderstorm that developed near Ranchvale and progressed across the north side of Clovis produced a tornado in Ranchvale and widespread wind and hail damage in Clovis. An impressive 79mph wind gust was reported at Cannon Air Force Base. The NMSU Agricultural Science Center suffered major damage to crops, buildings, and vehicles from hail. Thunderstorms continued in the northeast portion of the state into the following morning.

Gusty winds whipped central and east central New Mexico downing several power lines across Curry County and causing damage to a number of school district maintenance buildings in Clovis.

Several intense storms produce high winds and small hail across east central New Mexico. The storm that moved into Tucumcari knocked down a number of power lines and cancelled 4th of July community fireworks displays. Power was out in some areas more than 24 hours.

Strong thunderstorms pelted eastern Roosevelt and southeast Curry Counties with large hail and gusty winds. Winds near Pleasant Hill and the Clovis Airport knocked down several power lines.

A late season upper level storm produced gusty winds and swaths of heavy snow as it moved over northern New Mexico. Gusty winds of 50-60 mph were reported at several western and central locations beginning on the afternoon of the 4th, but the main period of strong wind gusts was during the morning and afternoon of the 5th across northeast and east central New Mexico. Heaviest snow of 5-7 inches was recorded near Des Moines and Capulin in Union County where the wind and snow helped topple about 15 power poles. A truck and motor home also wrecked near Capulin in the high winds that continued into the afternoon of the 5th.

A powerful storm moved into California on the 13th and slowly advanced east into northern New Mexico on the 15th. While it did weaken as it headed east, it still carried quite a punch as high winds were reported over much the state, but especially from the north and central mountains eastward to the Texas border where these regions saw an extended period of 35 to 45 mph sustained winds or gusts of 60 to 70 mph. Downslope winds on the east side of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains were particularly strong from near Angel Fire south to near Las Vegas. Cooperative observers near Gascon reported some the worst winds they had ever experienced with some 5000 to 8000 trees uprooted over an area of western Mora County. While some trees toppled because the ground was soft from snow melt, many were reported as twisted and snapped off 10 to 20 feet above ground with no discrimination between pine, fir, spruce or aspen. Falling trees damaged grazing allotment cross fencing in numerous places.

Several strong thunderstorms combined over northwest Curry County and swept southward over western sections of the county with strong winds and at least one small tornado. About 70 power and utility poles were blown over east of Melrose.

Thunderstorms formed along the east slope of the Sangre de Cristo in western Colfax and Mora Counties and then intensified into low precipitating supercells that yielded copious amounts of small hail across Harding and Union Counties, and finally golfball to baseball hail, plus funnel clouds and at least one brief gustnado or ground based spin-up over Quay County. Snow plows were called out near Grenville in Union County to remove dime size hail which clogged Highway 64/87 with 5-8 inches of ice. The heavier hail stayed mainly over open rangeland of Quay County, but later pounded storm chase vehicles along I-40 near the border with Texas. Storms began to bow as the passed into Curry County. Gusts of 60 to 80 mph just missed the main sections of Clovis, but scattered reports of downed trees and power lines were received from the city.

A strong upper level low swept across New Mexico bringing high winds to most southern, central and eastern counties. Damage reports consisted mainly of downed tree limbs and a few power poles, overturned yard sheds, plus a number of porch roofs ripped away as winds reached sustained speeds of 40-45 mph with gusts 50-60 mph during a 4 to 6 hour period from mid afternoon to early evening. A few semi-trailer trucks were overturned by the gusts near Tucumcari and Clovis with one injury reported. Several schools districts closed early for the first time due to winds because of the concern for bus safety in the high winds. A small cluster of high based thunderstorms developed near Clovis-Portales and combined with the high winds to produce brief gusts near 70 mph. The storm generated gusty winds of 25-35 mph across western and north central New Mexico, plus a late snow of 2 to 6 inches over middle and higher terrain.