No surprise: A rush on supplies

According to officials of local businesses selling cold weather supplies, eastern New Mexico residents weren’t taking the current blast of winter weather lightly as they scurried to pick up supplies before the storm Friday.

Grocery stores reported much heavier traffic than normal, and other retailers were holding their posts to get people supplied late Friday.

“We’re running out of things,” Randy Stansell, owner of Stansell’s Thriftway in Clovis, said late Friday. “We’re running out of meat, and that’s our top seller.”

Stansell said he didn’t expect another delivery before Monday and had been surprised at the rush.

At Creighton’s Town and Country feed store in Portales, ranchers were getting ready for the storm by stocking up on livestock salt and extra feed to make it through the weekend, according to Garland Creighton, manager.

“People are starting to stock up on supplies and be a little more cautious,” Creighton said, “especially with the forecast we’re getting.”

That National Weather Service forecast the snow to continue overnight with accumulations of 3 to 7 inches and an additional 1 to 3 inches today. A Winter Storm Warning is in effect until 5 p.m. today.

Temperatures are expected to fall into the midteens tonight and winds to increase to 15-20 mph causing further problems with blowing and drifting snow. A chance for snow flurries continues through Monday, according to the National Weather Service.

“It’s making us wish we had more ice scrapers, wiper blades and snow melt,” said Carquest manager Dick Renfro in Clovis. “Everybody in Clovis is out of ice melt, that’s what customers are telling us.”

According to Portales Police Capt. Lonnie Berry, the mobile command center had been prepositioned at the First Baptist Church in case Portales receives massive amounts of snow. He said Friday evening few accidents had occurred due to the storm.