Power Outage in Roswell, NM

A 68 mph wind gust was recorded at the Roswell airport. These strong straight-line winds downed power lines and snapped several power poles, as well as damaged roofs, fences, and trees along East Hobson Road near Midway. Damage amounts are a rough estimate.

Severe thunderstorm winds produced damage in the area around State Road 2 in Midway. Several trees were uprooted, seven to eight power poles were downed, one travel camper and one carport were destroyed. Damage amounts are estimated for property damage and downed power poles.

Power lines reported down in and around Roswell. Damage amounts are a very rough estimate.

Power lines downed from high winds resulted in power outage at the Roswell Correctional Facility between Hagerman and Dexter.

A 3 foot diameter tree was felled and resulted in damagd to a nearby automobile and powerlines. No injuries were reported.

Numerous road were closed or impassible in and near Roswell due to the heavy rains and flooding. This includes Poe Street west from Southeast Main as well as Brown Road from Country Club to Pine Lodge. Cars were also reported to have been floating down Highway 285 north of Roswell. Two feet of water ran over the highway between mile markers 136 and 138, leading the road to be closed. A couple of cars ended up in the ditch, with water up to their windshields. Also along Pine Lodge Road near mile marker 59, three to four feet of water ran over the road where it crossed Salt Creek. Cricket Creek as well as Spring and Hondo Rivers were running bank full. Unofficial rainfall reports include near 5 inches near Berrendo Road and North Main, 3.5 inches near the Roswell High School on West Church Street, and 3.0 inches at the 2600 block of South Sunset. Hundreds of homes were without power.

Numerous road were closed or impassible in and near Roswell due to the heavy rains and flooding. This includes Poe Street west from Southeast Main as well as Brown Road from Country Club to Pine Lodge. Cars were also reported to have been floating down Highway 285 north of Roswell. Two feet of water ran over the highway between mile markers 136 and 138, leading the road to be closed. A couple of cars ended up in the ditch, with water up to their windshields. Also along Pine Lodge Road near mile marker 59, three to four feet of water ran over the road where it crossed Salt Creek. Cricket Creek as well as Spring and Hondo Rivers were running bank full. Unofficial rainfall reports include near 5 inches near Berrendo Road and North Main, 3.5 inches near the Roswell High School on West Church Street, and 3.0 inches at the 2600 block of South Sunset. Hundreds of homes were without power.

Several transformers and power lines were damaged from the high wind gusts.

A trampoline was blown into power lines.

Thunderstorms snapped seven power poles in northeast Roswell. About 2500 residents of Roswell were without power for several hours. A trampoline was blown into a cinder block wall, damaging the wall.

The winds blew down power lines which in turn produced a structure fire.

Gusty and mostly dry thunderstorm winds swept across Roswell damaging car coverings and downing a number of power lines.

A deep tap of monsoon moisture continued surging north into New Mexico on July 24, 2020, setting the stage for additional showers and thunderstorms with torrential rainfall, localized flash flooding, and strong microburst winds. Storms developed early in the afternoon then moved slowly north to northwest across most of New Mexico. Several of these thunderstorms produced torrential rainfall amounts over two inches along with small hail and strong microburst winds. The Clayton airport reported a peak wind gust up to 59 mph and the Roswell airport reported a peak wind gust up to 68 mph. Straight-line winds damaged power lines, power poles, roofs, fences, and trees in the area around Midway. Heavy rainfall around Alamo damaged culverts and roadways in the area. A flash flood near Lemitar washed a pickup truck into an arroyo and caused damage to roadways. Fortunately, no injuries occurred with these storms.

A cluster of showers and thunderstorms that developed over eastern Lincoln County during the afternoon of September 11, 2019 moved east into southern Chaves County and produced wind damage shortly around 4 pm. Local fire officials reported uprooted trees and downed power poles in the area of State Road 2 between Darby and Orchard Park roads. Seven to eight power poles were downed in the area around Midway and Cherokee roads. One resident in the area said his travel camper and a carport were completely destroyed by the winds. Fortunately, no injuries or traffic accidents were reported due to the storm.

A record breaking late winter storm system moved through New Mexico on March 12-14, 2019. A deep tap of subtropical moisture surged north into the state ahead of this system on March 12th as a surface low deepened over northeastern New Mexico. Widespread showers and thunderstorms with locally heavy rainfall moved through the entire area on the 12th while heavy snow fell in the mountains above 9,000 feet. Abundant moisture and instability in place over eastern New Mexico led to the development of a large line of showers and thunderstorms with hail, damaging winds, and even a damaging EF-2 tornado in Chaves County. This was the first March tornado documented in Chaves County since 1959, and the earliest known EF-1 of stronger tornado in the state of New Mexico. Six people were injured and dozens of homes and structures were damaged or destroyed. A powerful Pacific cold front then blasted through the state on March 13th as bombogenesis took place along the Front Range of Rockies. Surface low pressure deepened over 24 millibars in 24 hours to record low values for a few sites within New Mexico and Kansas. The combination of a very intense surface pressure gradient and powerful jet stream winds aloft forced widespread strong to damaging winds across much of New Mexico. Peak wind gusts of 60 to 80 mph were common across eastern New Mexico, with sustained wind speeds between 40 and 60 mph for several hours. A large cargo train was blown off a bridge near Logan, completely destroying all 26 cars. Several high profile vehicles were also overturned on Interstate 25, Interstate 40, and U.S. Highway 285. Trees, power lines, and roofs were damaged in many other areas of the state. Snow continued to pile up in the higher terrain through the night of the 13th where storm total snowfall accumulations ranged from 20 to 40 inches.

The remnant circulation from Hurricane Bud shifted northward through Baja California and into the desert southwest on June 16, 2018. An area of light to moderate rain moved northeast across New Mexico during the early morning hours of the 16th with widespread amounts between one quarter and one half inch reported. Enough instability was present over the area by the afternoon to allow scattered thunderstorms to develop across central and eastern New Mexico. An additional one quarter to one half inch of rain with gusty outflow winds occurred with this second round of precipitation. The strongest storm impacted the area around Roswell where strong downburst winds downed a few power lines. Fortunately no flooding was reported on burn scars across the region.

A potent back door frontal boundary shifted west through the Rio Grande Valley and delivered much higher moisture levels west to the Continental Divide on June 3rd. |Meanwhile, an upper level wave moving northeast through the Four Corners region spread stronger winds aloft over the state and the necessary shear and lift for strong to severe thunderstorms. Showers and thunderstorms developed quickly after sunrise along the Continental Divide then spread northeastward into the Rio Grande Valley through the afternoon. These storms produced hail and strong winds across the area with even a few funnel clouds and two tornadoes. Heavy rainfall accompanied this activity as it shifted east into eastern New Mexico through the late evening hours. Powerful straight line winds from two separate downbursts produced significant damage in rural south-central Chaves County. Three mobile homes were overturned and completely destroyed west of Hagerman. Several recreational vehicles were also overturned and damaged in the vicinity. A large barn west of Lake Arthur was also completely destroyed.

The upper level trough responsible for severe weather across the area on the 14th continued to impact New Mexico through the 15th. Abundant moisture and instability associated with southeasterly upslope flow and strong upper level dynamics generated an extended period of severe weather across the eastern plains. Severe thunderstorms from late on the 14th persisted past midnight before diminishing before sunrise. A powerful storm that moved south of Melrose just after midnight produced one of the best radar signatures of a tornado forecasters have ever observed in eastern New Mexico. A nearby resident reported a loud roaring sound in the distance. A persistent storm with torrential rainfall amounts over four inches in eastern San Miguel County produced flash flooding along Atarque Creek through sunrise. Storms fired up quickly again by late morning and moved east across the plains. A funnel cloud was observed just after the noon hour near Vaughn. Another storm that moved east across Lincoln County dumped nickel to quarter size hail in the area around Tinnie, Picacho, and Dunken. A tornado and golf ball size hail was then spotted from this storm over rural ranch lands to the northeast of Dunken. Many other storms that impacted eastern New Mexico generated hail, torrential rainfall, and gusty winds throughout the afternoon.

A slow-moving upper level low pressure system over the Great Basin pulled abundant moisture north and west into New Mexico. The combination of deep moisture and instability over eastern New Mexico set the stage for severe thunderstorms beginning by late morning through the late afternoon hours. Several reports of large hail, strong winds, and heavy rainfall were received. A large tree in Roswell was blown over onto nearby power lines and a car due to the strong winds. Pea to quarter size hail accumulated 6 to 12 inches along Interstate 25 between Watrous and Wagon Mound, creating numerous traffic accidents.

A backdoor cold front brought an increase in moisture as it made its way south and westward across eastern portions of New Mexico. An upper level shortwave trough was also present which further increased the chances for storm activity. Scattered to numerous showers and thunderstorms developed throughout the afternoon and evening hours with numerous severe reports. Large hail and severe winds were reported across much of the area from Quay County south through Curry and Roosevelt counties. Power lines were downed across several areas of Roosevelt County. Accumulations of smaller hail along Interstate 25 at La Bajada Hill south of Santa Fe resulted in a jack-knifed semi-trailer and a roll over crash.

An isolated thunderstorm became severe with damaging wind gusts as it moved through Roswell. A two foot diameter tree was snapped at the trunk. Other tree limbs were knocked down as were a couple of power lines.

Strong winds knocked down trees and power lines in Roswell and damaged roofs.

Several clusters of thunderstorms produced gusty winds and small hail across east central and southeast New Mexico. A storm over south central Roosevelt County downed several power poles and snapped tree limbs as large as 10 inches in diameter. At least one home suffered siding damage.