Snowstorm prompts road closings, event delays

The winter storm that struck the Quay County region on Thursday didn't contain a lot of snow, but it still packed a punch.

The storm prompted local schools and governments to close early, postponed events and forced the closings of several highways because of vehicle accidents, including eastbound Interstate 40 on Thursday night into late Friday morning.

Dozens of trucks and other vehicles with nowhere to go clogged east Route 66 and the exit and entrance ramps around Tucumcari through Friday morning.

Snow began falling in Tucumcari on Thursday morning. Though only 1 to 2 inches were recorded, the National Weather Service station at Tucumcari Municipal Airport recorded wind gusts of up to 47 mph by evening, creating drifting snow and hazardous driving conditions.

State police closed eastbound I-40 in Tucumcari on Thursday evening.

Quay County Sheriff Dennis Garcia said Texas authorities requested the I-40 closure because of numerous accidents in the Panhandle.

He said driving conditions weren't bad in eastern New Mexico along the highway, but Amarillo and other parts of the Texas Panhandle received up to a foot of snow.

Local authorities also closed Highway 209 south of Tucumcari and Highway 469 from Grady to San Jon. Both highways were snow-packed and hazardous.

According to records from the Tucumcari-Quay Regional Emergency Communications Center, first responders worked four accidents and two motorist assists in the county during the storm.

The snowstorm prompted the cancellation of the EPAC basketball tournaments in Texico. Logan's teams were scheduled to compete in the tourney. The Clovis area received about a half-foot of snow.

A Tucumcari girls basketball game Thursday against visiting Goddard was rescheduled to Jan. 17.

A Tucumcari City Commission work session and meeting were rescheduled from Thursday to Monday.