Strong Winds Whip Borderland Friday

The Borderland is recovering following a windstorm that blew through the area on Friday.

Strong winds hit the Borderland for hours, with Northeast El Paso being one of the areas taking the brunt of the winds.

The winds kicked up plenty of dust, turning a blue sky amber by the afternoon.

These winds left behind many headaches, knocking down half a dozen power poles off of McCombs and Sun Valley. That knocked out power for thousands of El Pasoans Friday evening.

Those same winds had crews at Cohen Stadium tethering down what was left of the canopy. In December of last year, another windstorm tore part of the roof off the stadium.

Visibility was almost nonexistent near Spur 601 and Loop 375 as the winds blew there. Drivers on Loop 375 had to dodge heavy pieces of construction debris.

Meanwhile, other people were eating a lot more than supper during dinner time. “I’ve got sand in my teeth,” said one person, while another said, “I’ve lived here all my life and I still don’t like this.”

Crews will need to make sure the winds are gone before they can start putting new utility poles up. The winds are not forecast to be as high for Saturday.