Christmas Chill Could Hinder Last Minute Shoppers

Last minute shoppers, beware: there’s some nasty weather headed to the Borderland overnight Thursday.

“I still have to get a lot of gifts,” said one shopper. “It’s going to be horrible. The weather is not going to keep anyone from going out and about.”

ABC-7 issued a First Alert with potential for snow across the region. Rain will develop in spots late Thursday — the wind will gradually pick up as well.

Wind really won’t be cranking up until the overnight hours, between midnight and 7 a.m. We could have gusts around 40 mph with some wind chills in the teens and single digits.

Cold front plows in late tonight bringing much colder air each hour overnight. What precipitation is around tomorrow will be mainly snow. In fact, there ia chance of snow most of the day Friday until early evening.

The forecast isn’t stopping some El Pasoans from braving the malls, though. “It’s pretty busy right now,” said one man. “I anticipate a lot of accidents, a lot of traffic,” said his wife.

Many malls have been closing later than usual this week, including the outlet shops in Canutillo which close at midnight on the 23rd.

Earlier this montha snow storm hit El Paso that choked roads and ramped up wrecks. The El Paso Police Department counted a total of 255 wrecks in the span of 18 hours between Dec. 5 and 6.

ABC-7 checked with the city’s transportation department, which said crews will be ready to respond as needed.