Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Clovis received its first snowfall of the season early Saturday, with some area observers reporting up to an inch of snow on the grass. The National Weather Service reported peak wind gusts of up to 40 mph in Clovis and an official rain total of 0.19 of an inch.
Officials of the National Weather Service in Albuquerque said more precipitation was expected.
“All this was associated with a storm that came up from the south and through eastern New Mexico in the morning,” said meteorologist Chuck Jones. “There will be another storm dropping from the Pacific Northwest to the great basin over the next week, and the precipitation of the storm could linger until the end of the week.
“Certainly the dry pattern for the first two weeks of the month has shifted to a more unsettled pattern and we should be seeing a number of storms over the next week or so,” Jones said.
Lt. Patrick Whitney of the Clovis Police Department said there was only one weather-related incident in the area: a noninjury car crash Saturday morning at the corner of 14th and Prince streets due to slick roads.
Quineily Roark of Clovis said she recorded 0.2 of an inch in her rain gauge and was glad to see it.
“It was wonderful; any moisture at all is appreciated,” she said. “We also had snow around 7, 8, and 9 this morning, but it was mostly on the grass.”
Cannon Air Force Base recorded only 0.05 of an inch and a Melrose observer had 0.03 of an inch, but those east of Clovis saw more precipitation.
Walter Curd of Texico said his rain gauge received about half an inch and he had just enough snow to cover the grass.
“We got it from about 7 a.m., and it snowed quite a bit, but it was melted by noon at least,” Curd said.
A Farwell observer recorded 0.33 of an inch; a Muleshoe observer recorded 0.30 of an inch of rain and an estimated one inch of snow that had melted by 2 p.m.
Other precipitation amounts included 0.10 of an inch in Portales, 0.25 of an inch northeast of Clovis, and totals within the Clovis city limits ranging from 0.16 to 0.25 of an inch.