Local government offices in Las Vegas, New Mexico shuttered Thursday afternoon and local officials warned people against traveling on Nov. 7, 2024. (Photo courtesy of Cole Rehbein)
A winter storm knocked out power to tens of thousands of New Mexicans, and Some schools and government offices closed Thursday as more than 2 feet of snow fell in some parts of the state.
Nearly 36,000 households were without electricity in the Santa Fe and Albuquerque areas, according to an outage map maintained by PNM, the largest electric utility in the state.
In the last 24 hours, 24 inches of snow fell in Clines Corners, and parts of the Santa Fe National Forest near Rociada and Cleveland, according to the National Weather Service. A large swath of the state got between 8 and 18 inches of snow in that same period.
On Thursday afternoon, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham declared a statewide emergency, unlocking $1.5 million for state agencies responding to the storm.
National Weather Service Albuquerque issued a blizzard warning for the eastern slopes of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains near the city, including San Miguel, Harding and Union Counties, in effect through 8 p.m. Thursday.