Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
QCS Senior Write.
The storm Sunday that knocked out power to portions of the city and delayed business on Monday will be the last moisture in the area until possibly Saturday, as triple-digit temperatures move in for the rest of the week, according to the National Weather Service in Albuquerque.
Beginning Wednesday, Tucumcari and Quay County will warm up considerably until Saturday, said NWS meteorologist Kerry Jones.
Jones said a chance of moisture is possible Saturday night in some areas and will help bring down the temperature during the day. He said it will not be much of a drop, with the high forecast for Saturday is 98 degrees.
Jones said Sunday’s storms came in from the west, developing on the outflow boundaries northwest of Conchas. He said the rain cooled air from previous storms and the daytime heating fueled development of the storms that passed over Quay County.
Jones said rainfall reports varied throughout the county, with as much as 1.65 inches reported east of Tucumcari and 1.3 inches reported at House.
The storm caused damage to some power lines, causing one of Xcel Energy’s breakers to open, creating a power outage affecting 1,935 customers, said Wes Reeves, Xcel spokesman.
Reeves said Xcel crews responded to the report of a power outage at 6:15 p.m., Sunday in Tucumcari. He said crews worked on downed power lines and inspected power lines in the area that would be used for rerouting power to ensure there was not additional damage done by the storm.
Reeves said power was restored at 8 p.m. to 1,877 customers, although 58 customers remained without power until 9:30 p.m.; power returned upon completion of repairs.
On Monday, Mesalands Community College and Everyone’s Federal Credit Union had phone system failures caused by the power outage.
The phone systems were repaired by the 10:30 a.m., and “services were delayed for a short time for our customers,” said credit union chief executive officer Andi Baum.
K-Bob’s Restaurant closed Sunday after the power outage.
Tucumcari Fire Department responded at 6 p.m., Sunday to a report of a fire at the restaurant, where officials said the cause of the could not be determined. Fire department officials recommended the restaurant close until an electrician could identify and correct the problem.
K-Bob’s reopened Tuesday.