Approaching storm brings small rain and snow chances for Eddy County

Mike Smith
Carlsbad Current-Argus

Eddy County received small doses of precipitation New Year’s Day and an impending winter storm was not likely to produce significant results, according to the National Weather Service (NWS) in Midland, Texas.

Douglas Caine, lead forecaster, said Carlsbad received seven-hundredths of an inch of precipitation from a passing New Year’s Day storm and Artesia received three-hundredths of an inch.

Precipitation measurements at Carlsbad’s Cavern City Air Terminal were minimal toward the end of 2021, read City of Carlsbad data.

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The airport received 2.4 inches of rain in August and under an inch fell from September to November.

Winds dominated Eddy County Jan. 18 as NWS issued a wind advisory and a red flag warning as a fire danger was high with wind gusts forecasted around 35 mph.

A high warning was posted for the Guadalupe Mountains until the evening of Jan. 18. NWS predicted wind gusts of 65 mph.

Clouds dotted parts of Eddy County Jan. 18, 2021. The National Weather Service in Midland, Texas predicted a slight chance of rain and snow later in the week.

Rain and snow chances entered Eddy County’s weather forecast starting after 11 p.m. Jan. 19, read an NWS forecast for Carlsbad.

The forecast noted a 30 percent chance of snow before 11 a.m. Jan 20 with a chance of rain and snow for the rest of the day.

Caine said Eddy County was not likely to receive any significant any rain or snowfall from an upcoming storm system.

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NWS forecasted spring like temperatures Jan. 18 for Carlsbad with a high of 72 degrees. Temperatures were expected to fall to 39 degrees as a high for Jan. 20.

Temperatures were forecast to rebound for the weekend with highs around 50 Friday and Saturday, NWS indicated.

Mike Smith can be reached at 575-628-5546 or by email at MSmith@currentargus.com or @ArgusMichae on Twitter.