Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities

Portales’ thirst quenched

Portales streets flooded Wednesday night after the city received the most overnight rainfall it’s seen in a year, according to weather recordkeepers.

Carla Howard, a development assistant at Eastern New Mexico University’s KENW radio and television station, said the station’s weather records show that Portales received 1.38 inches of rain.

Howard said Wednesday’s storm brought more rainfall than “all of last month’s rains” combined. The total rainfall for July was 1.14 inches.

“(Portales) hasn’t had an inch of rainfall (in one night) since August last year,” Howard said.

KENW’s records show that Portales hasn’t gotten that much rain in one day since Aug. 13, 2005, when it rained 1.98 inches.

Other Roosevelt County communities received similar amounts of rainfall Wednesday night.

Village Clerk Toni Whitecotton said Floyd received about 1.4 inches of rainfall.

Garland Creighton, a farmer and rancher who lives northwest of Elida, said his rain gauge showed 1.3 inches.

“It was the best rain we’ve had in over a year,” Creighton said.

He said up until this last rainfall, he has only measured an inch total since last fall with his rain gauge.

“We were really tickled to get one and three-tenths (Wednesday) night.”

Creighton says he grows some wheat south of Elida and will plant that in about a month. He plans to plant hay as soon as he can after the fields dry.

Capt. Lonnie Berry of the Portales Police Department said no serious problems were reported from the flooded streets.