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Multi-vehicle crashes clog highways as dust and high winds sweep across New Mexico
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A big, brown cloud, fires, highway closures and power outages — the strong winds sweeping through New Mexico on Tuesday brought them all.
Low visibility and high winds caused several multi-car pileups across the state; one on Interstate 25 and N.M. 16 at La Bajada; on U.S. 285 near Dexter; and one on Interstate 40 at the Torrance and Guadalupe county line.
The National Weather Service said wind speeds reached the highest in southern New Mexico, where a 93 mph gust was recorded at San Augustin Pass, east of Las Cruces. Farther north, an 82 mph gust was recorded at the Magdalena Ridge Observatory and a 68 mph one at the Albuquerque International Sunport.
Albuquerque Fire Rescue said crews had to douse a house fire that sparked when winds blew down a power line, causing no injuries but displacing those who lived there. In Valencia County, officials said a fast-moving brush fire had torched structures along N.M. 47, near Isleta Pueblo.
The Public Service Company of New Mexico reported around 140 outages, affecting over 6,600 customers in different parts of the state, as of about 8 p.m.
“We encourage our customers to prepare for potential weather-related power outages. PNM has set system controls to be more sensitive in the East Mountains, Las Vegas, Clayton, Ruidoso, and Silver City areas to better protect public safety from wildfire risks,” the company said.
The National Weather Service issued two dust storm advisories Tuesday, forecasting less than a quarter-mile visibility and 50 mph winds, for Bernalillo County, northeastern Valencia County, southeastern Sandoval County, Torrance County and southern Santa Fe County.
The dusty, low-to-zero visibility conditions in several areas also prompted the city of Albuquerque to temporarily suspend Solid Waste operations at the Cerro Colorado landfill.
Winds were forecast to stay gusty through Tuesday night and bring Albuquerque temperatures into the teens and the single digits in Santa Fe, according to the National Weather Service. The weather will stay more or less breezy and dry into the weekend.
