Winter storm blasts area

Overturned Truck: Crew members from Speedway Towing prepare right an overturned tractor-trailer that was hauling a load of carrots east from California on Wednesday near the 3 Mile Marker on I-40, west of Gallup. [Photo by Jeff Jones/Independent]

By Jim Tiffin
Cibola County Bureau

GRANTS — A winter storm blanketed Cibola County, resulting in the state courts and Grants-Cibola County Schools being closed on Wednesday.

Early Wednesday morning school district Superintendent Kilino Marquez called for a two hour delay in schools opening, but by 8:45 a.m., the decision to close all the schools because of the inclement weather was made.

Marquez said when schools are to be closed, anouncements will be made early in the morning on three Albuquerque TV stations, channels, 4, 7 and 13.

Jeff Michalski, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Albuquerque said the storm, bringing cold, brisk winds, temperatures in the teens and snow, is expected to continue more to the east and should clear Cibola and McKinley counties by the end of today.

"This winter storm was developing in Utah and Western Colorado for a couple of days, then the jet stream grabbed it and brought it into our area," Michalski said.

Wednesday afternoon at 2:45 p.m., temperatures registered at 18 degrees in Grants at the Grants-Milan Municipal Airport.

Winds were recorded at 20 mph, but Tuesday afternoon gusts were as high as 33 mph, he said.

The airport recorded .24 of an inch of precipitation, but that was melted snow dripping into the recording equipment, Michalski said. The weather equipment at the airport showed snow staring to fall just after midnight Wednesday.

The amount of snow in Milan was about four inches, a little less in Grants.

The winter storm probably dropped substantial amounts of snow on the top of 11,300 feet Mt. Taylor, just outside of Grants, he said.

Lt. Juan Jose Martinez of the New Mexico State Police Division observed, "There were no fatalities in the area, but there were a lot of wrecks. I'm not aware of any serious injuries, though."

Temperatures will remain in the low 30s through Friday, creeping higher into the low 40s by the weekend and then Monday or Friday, hitting the high 40s, low 50s, Michalski said.

By Friday through early next week it will be sunny to partly cloudy but no additional storms, rain or snow are projected at this point in time, he said.

The storm will be centered over Lubbock, Texas. Then it will continue moving northeast, he said.

To contact reporter Jim Tiffin, call (505) 287-2197 or e-mail: jtiffin.independent@yahoo.com.