Cold-weather items hot sellers with first snowfall

Staff writer

Eastern New Mexico was dusted with its first snow of the season Wednesday, sending residents to fetch heavy coats and into hardware stores for pipe-repair parts and space heaters.

The storm system produced reports of up to a half-inch of snow two miles northwest of Clovis and two-tenths of an inch three miles southwest of Portales, but most of Curry and Roosevelt counties had just enough snow to frost the grass.

A half-inch of snow was reported in Quay County three miles northeast of Tucumcari, according to the National Weather Service in Albuquerque.

Temperatures did not climb out of the 20s all day. Tucumcari recorded a high of only 21. Clovis and Portales both had highs of 28, NWS reported.

Chuck Jones, senior NWS meteorologist in Albuquerque, said changing winds spread cloud cover from the east central mountains to eastern New Mexico and into Texas. This, combined with low-level moisture that followed the cold front, produced the dry snow.

Hardware stores reported busy days.

“The items people have been coming in to purchase since the temperature dropped have been parts to repair leaking or broken pipes due to freezing,” said Win Wright, Ace Hardware associate in Tucumcari.

Wright said since the colder weather and snow started, a lot of customers have also been buying space heaters, furnace items and additional insulating materials for pipes.

Ken Ericson, home and garden department manager of Clovis’ Lowes Home Improvement, said sales have increased in space heaters and other cold-weather items over the past two days.

Jones said the system is expected to clear out of the area by today with temperatures returning to the mid-40s.

The New Mexico Department of Transportation reported fair to difficult driving on roads west of Quay, Curry and Roosevelt counties, but no problems in the three-county area.