Dust Storm — Chaves County Plains, New Mexico

2024-11-16 · Chaves County Plains, New Mexico

Event narrative

NM State Police and NMDOT closed the Roswell Relief Route on the southwest side of town between Sunset Ave. and Brasher Rd. during the mid-to-late afternoon due to blowing dust, brown-out conditions, and zero visibility.

Wider weather episode

Strong southwest winds ahead of a developing upper low over southern California resulted in localized blowing dust and near zero visibility at the Roswell Relief Route from Brasher Road to Sunset Ave. The road remained closed for 90 minutes before winds and blowing dust settled down during the early evening hours. Additionally, the mesonet station a few miles southeast of Vaughn observed a brief high wind gust just before noon local time.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1216779. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.