No damage reported from tornado

The report of a tornado in Quay County the evening of March 12 prompted Tucumcari officials to activate the city’s tornado sirens, but no reports of damage came in the wake of the storm.

Daniel Zamora, the county’s emergency management coordinator, said he received no reports of damage.

Local officials saw the potential effect of the storm well in advance. The National Weather Service at 6:21 p.m. issued a tornado warning for southwestern Quay County after its radar detected rotation in a severe thunderstorm southwest of Fort Sumner, heading northeast.

Tucumcari officials activated the warning sirens at 7:43 p.m. and urged residents to take shelter. According to NWS radar readings, the worst of the storm went east of Tucumcari in a less-populated area.

The tornado warning was extended to the Logan and Ute Lake State Park areas at 8:15 p.m. The warning expired at 8:27 p.m. as the storm weakened.