Blizzard rocks region

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The blizzard weather forecasters have predicted for days hit eastern New Mexico on Saturday night with all the fury expected.

The Christmas Tree at the Curry County Courthouse was felled by 50-mph winds on Saturday night . (Courtesy photo by Shawn Jay Johnson)

By 11:30 p.m., more than 5,000 Clovis customers of Xcel Energy were without power and most roads in the region were closed.

Roads that remained open were icy and “extremely poor due to blizzard conditions,” Curry County Emergency Management Coordinator Dan Heerding reported.

Roads from the New Mexico line to Amarillo and Lubbock were also hazardous with “white-out conditions,” Heerding said.

New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez issued a news release urging "absolutely no travel" in the state's hardest-hit counties, which include Curry, De Baca, Roosevelt and Quay.

Roosevelt County Sheriff Malin Parker posted on Facebook that the sheriff's department had 20 calls for help pending from stranded motorists, "And we have already wrecked one unit trying to help." Parker said visibility in the county was zero and he urged residents to stay home.

Multiple signs and the Christmas tree outside the Curry County Courthouse were knocked down by winds gusting as high as 67 mph.

Temperatures were in the low 20s by 9:30, leaving wind-chill factors near 0.

Xcel Energy reported about 12,000 customers were without power between Clovis and Amarillo.

Forecasters did not expect the storm to subside until Sunday afternoon and predicted it would intensify after midnight for several hours.

Snowfall totals were about a tenth of an inch in Clovis, but blowing snow made visibility difficult at times.

At a glance

Road conditions:nmroads.com

Anyone needing emergency assistance:

In Portales: 575-356-4404

In Clovis: 575-763-9472

To report power outages:

Xcel Energy: 800-895-1999 or the automated outage reporting tool at www.xcelenergy.com/outages

Farmers Electric: 575-762-4466