Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
Early season storm closes schools, cancels Veterans Day observance
David Johnson, left, of Cheyenne, Wyoming, and Luke Ward, of Farmington, elders with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Tucumcari, volunteered Monday morning to shovel snow from the driveway of a home in the 1600 block of South Second Street.
Tucumcari bore most of the brunt in the region of an early-season winter storm that dumped nearly 6 inches of snow Sunday night into Monday morning.
The snowstorm closed all schools in Quay County and classes at Mesalands Community College in Tucumcari on Monday. A Veterans Day ceremony scheduled for Monday morning by VFW Post 2528 was canceled because of the weather. Numerous other offices and businesses already were closed Monday in observance of Veterans Day.
The New Mexico Department of Transportation by mid-morning Monday reported "difficult" driving conditions on Interstate 40 west of Tucumcari and on U.S. 54 north of Tucumcari, which was an upgrade from "severe" conditions earlier. I-40 east of Tucumcari to the Texas state line still reported severe driving conditions late Monday morning.
The Tucumcari-Quay County Regional Emergency Communications Center reported three accidents and eight motorist assists Sunday night and Monday morning. An accident on I-40 at mile marker 331 near Tucumcari on Sunday night briefly closed both eastbound lanes. The communications center typically deals with three or fewer such calls overnight.
A dispatcher at All-Rite Towing in Tucumcari said Monday morning her business was "very busy," with three callers on hold.
Despite the storm, hotel rooms in Tucumcari were available. A desk clerk at Holiday Inn Express said her hotel was only "somewhat busy," with 50 rooms booked overnight. A typical number was 30 to 35, she said.
Kevin Mueller, co-owner of the Blue Swallow Motel along Route 66 in Tucumcari, said "the storm didn't affect us, except to make more work for us to clear it. Unless I-40 closes, it doesn't affect us."
Two weather stations in Tucumcari reporting for Weather Underground recorded 5.8 and 5.6 inches of snow shortly after daybreak Monday, when the snow ended. The only other spot in the region that recorded more snowfall was Ortiz Ranch station west of Tucumcari near Newkirk, which had 6.3 inches.
Logan recorded 5.3 inches, San Jon 4.4 inches, Santa Rosa 4.1 inches, Grady 3.6 inches, House 3.5 inches, Quay 3.2 inches and Conchas Dam 2.4 inches. Several stations in the Clovis area reported less than 2 inches.