Thousands without power in eastern New Mexico, West Texas
Thousands without power in eastern New Mexico
Xcel Energy said about 55,000 customers are without power as of 7:30 p.m. Friday
Updated: 6:59 PM MDT Mar 14, 2025
WE’RE GOING TO GIVE YOU THIS QUICK WEATHER UPDATE ABOUT THE FEROCIOUS WINDS THAT ARE IN PLACE THROUGHOUT MUCH OF NEW MEXICO, DAMAGING IN SOME AREAS. OF COURSE, WE’RE GUSTY WITH THE BLOWING DUST HERE IN THE ALBUQUERQUE AREA. NOW RIGHT BEFORE THE NOON HOUR, WE’RE GUSTING OVER 50 MILES AN HOUR RIGHT NOW. WE’RE STILL GUSTING CLOSE TO 40 MILES AN HOUR, BUT IT’S GOING TO BE ROUGH FOR A COUPLE OF HOURS AND IT WILL START TO TREND DOWN. LET’S GO AHEAD AND SHOW YOU A LIVE LOOK. AND THIS WOULD BE FROM ANGEL FIRE. AND THERE YOU HAVE IT. THEY’VE ONLY PICKED UP 3 OR 4IN OF SNOW. BUT MUCH OF NORTHERN NEW MEXICO AND THE HIGHER TERRAIN WE’RE TALKING ABOUT THE MOUNTAIN TOP LEVELS. IT’S BEEN LIKE ZERO VISIBILITY FOR A TIME. WITH THE BLOWING SNOW ACROSS THE REGION. THAT WINTER STORM WARNING CONTINUES THERE UNTIL 6:00 FOR THIS EVENING. THERE YOU SEE THE CURRENT WIND GUSTS AROUND THE STATE 61 MILE PER HOUR, GUSTS OVER IN CLOVIS ON INTO HOBBS. AND THERE’S A WILDFIRE THAT’S BEING FOUGHT. A 500 ACRE GRASSLAND FIRE UP AROUND LAS VEGAS NEAR THE FORT UNION AREA. NO DETAILS ON THAT, BUT THAT JUST SHOWS YOU HOW BAD THE SITUATION IS RIGHT NOW. AS WE GO AHEAD AND SHOW YOU THERE IS A DUST STORM WARNING UNTIL 2:00 BECAUSE OF THOSE 60 MILE PER HOUR WINDS. IT’S PARCHED EARTH OUT HERE, SO THE BLOWING DUST IS REALLY KIND OF LIMITING THE VISIBILITY. AND IF YOU ENCOUNTER THAT, JUST PULL OFF THE ROAD AND DON’T TAKE ANY CHANCES THERE. CURRENT VISIBILITY YOU SEE AROUND 2 TO 3 MILES VISIBILITY FROM CLOVIS ON INTO HOBBS. AS WE LOOK AT THE WIND, ADVISORIES ARE GOING TO BE ENDING AT 6:00 HERE IN THE ALBUQUERQUE SANTA FE AREA, AND THEN UP TO 8:00 FOR MUCH OF THE REST OF THE HIGH WIND WARNING THAT YOU SEE OVER HERE FOR GUSTS OF 60, 70 MILES AN HOUR AND WILL CONTINUE RIGHT UNTIL MIDNIGHT OVER SOUTHEASTERN PARTS OF NEW MEXICO. THERE’S THAT HIGH FIRE THREAT IN PLACE, SO DON’T DO ANY OUTDOOR BURNING. AND YEAH, THE AIR QUALITY, AS YOU WOULD EXPECT, IS VERY, VERY BAD. THERE. YOU SEE IT OVER IN EASTERN PARTS OF THE STATE THERE. YOU SEE IT IN SOUTHERN PARTS OF NEW MEXICO. WE’RE UNDER A HEALTH ALERT HERE IN THE ALBUQUERQUE AREA. AND THAT BEING THE CASE, IF YOU’RE PART OF THOSE SENSITIVE RESPIRATORY GROUPS, LIMIT YOUR TIME OUTSIDE UNTIL THE DUST STARTS TO SETTLE IN THE AREA HERE. ALL RIGHT. AS WE LOOK AT THE FORECAST FOR THIS AFTERNOON, WE HAVE THE IMPACT WEATHER, AS YOU SEE, 2:00 SUSTAINED WINDS AROUND 33 MILES AN HOUR. THAT’S KIND OF WHAT WE’RE SEEING RIGHT NOW WITH THE HIGHER GUSTS. CERTAINLY. AND THEN NOTICE HOW WE GO TO THE 5:00 HOUR. IT STARTS TO SUBSIDE AND IT’LL JUST TURN BREEZY FOR A TIME THEREAFTER. AND AS WE LOOK AT THE WIND FORECAST, THIS WOULD BE FORECAST AROUND 2:00 IN THE AFTERNOON. YOU SEE STRONG WINDS EASTERN PARTS OF THE STATE WILL ADVANCE IT TO 6:00 PM. STILL STRONG IN THE EAST, TAPERING OFF IN THE WEST. AND AS WE ADVANCE IT TOWARD MIDNIGHT, YOU CAN SEE IT’S STARTING TO COME DOWN INTO THE BREEZY CATEGORY THROUGHOUT MUCH OF NEW MEXICO, BUT STILL KIND OF STRONG OVER SOUTHEASTERN PARTS OF NEW MEXICO. WE’LL HAVE ANOTHER UPDATE IN ABOUT AN HOUR.
Thousands without power in eastern New Mexico
Xcel Energy said about 55,000 customers are without power as of 7:30 p.m. Friday
Updated: 6:59 PM MDT Mar 14, 2025
High wind warnings have led to significant power line damage and thousands are without power in eastern New Mexico and West Texas.Video above: High wind warnings issued across New MexicoXcel Energy said about 55,000 customers are without power as of 7:30 p.m. Friday. The number of outages is expected to change as the active weather pattern continues.Eastern New Mexico are likely to be mostly restored Friday night, according to Xcel Energy.The company also said it may take several days to restore power to all customers due to the power line damage. Crews are ready to begin restoring power once winds lessen.Eastern New Mexico and others saw roughly 17,000 customers get their power temporarily shut off due to the significant wind gusts and dry conditions. Those other areas impacted are the Texas Panhandle and South Plains, according to Xcel Energy.The most extensive damage found by Xcel Energy was between Clovis and Amarillo, Texas. Those customers could be out of power until early next week.Crews are expected to begin inspecting and working to turn power back on through the weekend. Areas in New Mexico being impacted also include Tucumcari and Portales.Track their live outage map here.Stay updated on the latest news with the KOAT app. You can download it here.
High wind warnings have led to significant power line damage and thousands are without power in eastern New Mexico and West Texas.
Video above: High wind warnings issued across New Mexico
Xcel Energy said about 55,000 customers are without power as of 7:30 p.m. Friday. The number of outages is expected to change as the active weather pattern continues.
Eastern New Mexico are likely to be mostly restored Friday night, according to Xcel Energy.
The company also said it may take several days to restore power to all customers due to the power line damage. Crews are ready to begin restoring power once winds lessen.
Eastern New Mexico and others saw roughly 17,000 customers get their power temporarily shut off due to the significant wind gusts and dry conditions. Those other areas impacted are the Texas Panhandle and South Plains, according to Xcel Energy.
The most extensive damage found by Xcel Energy was between Clovis and Amarillo, Texas. Those customers could be out of power until early next week.
Crews are expected to begin inspecting and working to turn power back on through the weekend. Areas in New Mexico being impacted also include Tucumcari and Portales.
Track their live outage map here.
Stay updated on the latest news with the KOAT app. You can download it here.