2 feet of hail blankets eastern New Mexico town Santa Rosa
by Ricky Treon
Amarillo Globe-News
The eastern New Mexico town of Santa Rosa will begin the holiday weekend with a white Independence Day.
According to this report from Albuquerque Journal (Albuquerque, New Mexico ABQjournal.com), nearly 2 feet of hail fell in the city about 60 miles west of Tucumcari on Interstate 40, some of which was golf ball size and did some damage to roofs, skylights and the like.
More from ABQjournal.com: “A National Weather Service meteorologist, who had just spoken with the Guadalupe County emergency manager, said he received no reports of injuries. … Storms of that type are common in the New Mexico eastern plains, meteorologist Clay Anderson said, and they often can dump a lot of big hail in uninhabited areas”
After the massive hailstorm that caused significant damage in Amarillo, there were collections of hail that looked like snow.
But 2 feet? That’s impressive, and looks more like Amarillo did after the historic blizzard in February.
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Hail blankets Santa Rosa, N.M.
Jon Erdman
Weather Channel
According to the National Weather Service in Albuquerque, hail up to golfball size pelted the city around 6:00 p.m. MDT.
As bizarre as this sounds, accumulating hail is not uncommon in the High Plains.
Northeast New Mexico sits in what meteorologists call “Hail Alley”, a swath from southeast Wyoming and northeast Colorado to northeast New Mexico and the Texas Panhandle, where large hail falls on average at least three days a year.
This is due, in part, due to higher elevation. The less depth of warm air for a hailstone to fall through, the greater the chance of it reaching the ground before melting. Santa Rosa, N.M. lies at 4,616 feet above sea level.
Above: Santa Rosa, N.M. on July 3, 2013. (Credit: Santa Rosa, N.M. Fire Department)
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Videos from Southeastern New Mexico hail storms
Video: Hailstorm aftermath in Santa Rosa, NM
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Video: Las Vegas, New Mexico hail storm
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Video: Hailing in New Mexico
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Video: Clovis, New Mexico severe thunderstorm hail
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July 4, 2013
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